Illinois  €mM  ?.:iil-^Jloa^  €mp^ 


OFFERS    FOR  SALE 


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OYER  3,000,000  ACRES 

SELECTED 

num  m  wood  lods. 

IN  TRACTS  OF  FORTY  ACRES  AND  UPWARDS,  TO  SUIT  riTRCHASERS, 


Long  Credits  and  at  Low  Kates  of  Interest, 


ON   EACH  SIDE  OF  THEIR  RAIL-ROAD,  EXTENDING  ALL  THE  -WAT  FROM  THE 
EXTREME  NORTH  TO  THE  SOUTH  OF  THE 

STATE     or     ILLINOIS., 


I'  '  JOHN    W.   AMERMAN,    PPuINTER, 


i&iiiiioii 


EXPLANATION 


K.  H   III  UperLi  lio;i 
R.K.Pr.igresfciug 


//ir   /////IT  xA,idu,f,  .lA^ii'x  M/  bmuuttii*  I'/'lJir  /unr/.i 
tfihr  lUinois  CrntraJ  A//7  /"«.//  rnmfmin-.  uil/iin  Mr 
.war  itit/r  titiar.  7'Ai-  /iif/ll  sHdAiiii  l/lr  //t:ii  tti/tirl 
of  their  landx  wiOiui  Uu  fiffrrii  //it/.     />'/.  // 

Thr  Xuniha-o/'t/lr  /oir/ls/"/'x  f'ttirAr/r//  iw/r.v 
pi'/itls  n-itJi  t/ti-  nujnAer  /i/'etvch  Srr/i/itut/  .'////». 


TUE 


llliiiots  €n\M  |iai{-|loalr  Compiig 


OFFERS    FOR   SALE 


OVER  2,000,000  ACRES 


SELECTED 


FARMING  AN])  WOOD  LANDS, 

IN  TEACT3  OF  FORTY  ACEES  AND  UPWARDS,  TO  SUIT  PURCIIASEES, 


LONG  CREDITS,  AND  AT  LOW  RATES  OF  INTEREST, 


ON  EACH  SIDE  OF    THEIR  RAIL-ROAD,  EXTENDING    ALL  THE  WAY  FROM  THX 
EXTREME  NORTH  TO  THE  SOUTH  OF  THE 

STATE    OF    ILLINOIS. 


JOHN  W.    AMERMAN,    PRINTER, 

No.    60    WiLLIAM-STEEKT. 

1856. 


Note. — It  has  beeo  foand  impossible  to  answer  the  large  number  of  letters  that 
are  daily  received  in  reference  to  these  Lands.  To  such  this  Pamphlet  will  be  sent 
in  reply  to  the  questions  asked. 


2,000,000   ACRES 

ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  R.  R.  LANDS. 

NOTICE  TO  PURCHASERS. 

The  lands  offered  for  sale  by  ihe  Illinois  Central  Rail-Road  Company 
were  granted  by  the  United  'States  to  the  Slate  of  Illinois  Ly  the  act 
of  20th  September,  1850.  All  the  conditions  stipulated  in  that  act 
have  been  fulfilled,  and  the  title  to  these  lands  can  no  longer  be  aftected 
by  legislation. 

By  the  act  of  10th  February,  1851,  the  State  of  Illinois^ incorporated 
this  Company,  and  directed  the  Governor  to  convey  to  said  Company, 
by  a  deed  in'fee  simple,  all  of  said  lands,  &c.,  which  was  done. 

The  said  act  further  required  said  Company  to  execute  a  deed  of 
trust  of  all  of  said  lands,  &c,,  to  certain  persons  named  therein  by  the 
State,  to  secure  the  performance  of  the  conditions  and  stipulations  re- 
quired thereby.  The  bonds  issued  under  this  trust  are  being  paid  as 
f:^st  as  the  money  is  received  from  the  sale  of  the  lands,  set  apart  for 
that  purpose.  All  bonds  received  for  lands,  or  purchased  with  the  pro- 
ceeds of  such  lands,  are  officially  cancelled  by  the  trustees. 

Where  payment  is  made  in  "full,  the  purchaser  at  once  obtains  his 
title  from  the  trustees  appointed  by  the  State.  If  the  sale  is  on  credit, 
however,  the  title  is  not  given  till  final  payment  is  made,  but  the  pur- 
chaser receives  a  contract,  stipulating  that  such  title  will  be  given  on 
full  payment,  and  compliance  with  the  conditions  specified  therein. 
Each  payment  for  lands  sold  on  credit  can  be  made  in  Construction 
Bonds  or  cash  ;  and  if  in  the  latter,  it  is  applied  to  the  purchase  of  such 
bonds  ;  and  the  particular  tract  is  at  once  exempted  from  liability,  and 
a  perfect  title  given  by  the  trustees — being,  in  fact,  the  first  conveyance 
under  the  authority  of  the  General  Government. 

The  sales  are  made  under  the  direction  of  the  trustees,  and  are  author- 
ized by  an  act  of  the  State  legislature.  The  lands  thus  sold  are  exempted 
from  taxation  by  said  law  of  the  State  till  finally  paid  for. 

The  trustees  execute  deeds  for  all  lands  sold  ;  and  the  conveyance  by 
said  trustees,  in  the  terms  of  the  law,  is  "  an  absolute  title  in  fee  simple," 
and  operates  "  as  a  release  or  an  acquittance  of  the  particular  tract  or 
tracts  so  sold  from  all  liability  or  incumbrance  on  account  of  said  deed 
of  trust,  and  the  issue  of  said  bonds — so  as  to  vest  in  the  purchasers  a 
complete  and  indefeasible  title." 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  the  act  of  Congress  making  the  grant  secures  the 
title  in  purchasers,  whatever  may  be  the  action  of  the  State;  and  the 
law  of  the  State  incorporating  this  Company,  while  amply  securing 
the  bondholders,  is  alike  careful  to  protect  purchasers  of  the  lands,  and 
to  secure  to  them  perfect  and  cotnplete  titles  in  any  and  every  contin- 
gency. 

JOHN  WILSON, 
Land  Commissioner  Illinois  Central  R.  R.  Co. 
Ckicaffo,  June  20,  1856. 

Office  in  Illinois  Central  R.  R.  Depot,  Chicago,  III. 


THE  RAIL-ROAD  ROUTE. 

The  Road  commences  at  Dunleith,  a  town  on  the 
Mississippi  river,  in  the  extreme  northwest  of  the  State, 
opposite  the  city  of  Dubuque,  in  Iowa.  It  passes  south 
16  miles  through  Galena,  the  centre  of  the  great  lead 
region  of  the  West.  Then  easterly  50  miles,  after  which 
it  takes  a  southerly  course  in  an  almost  straight  line  to 
Cairo,  the  extreme  southern  point  of  the  State.  Cairo 
is  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers,  and  is  the  point  at  which  produce  and  merchan- 
dise are  exchanged  with  the  numerous  steamboats  navi- 
gating these  great  rivers.  A  branch  of  the  road  leaves 
the  main  line  at  Centralia,  118  miles  above  Cairo,  diverg- 
ing to  the  northeast,  and  terminating  at  Chicago,  on 
Lake  Michigan. 

Two  daily  passenger  trains  are  now  running  between 
Dunleith  and  Cairo,  as  also  between  Chicago  and  Dun- 
leith,  and  Chicago  and  Cairo,  besides  numerous  freight 
trains  as  required  by  the  varying  business  of  the  Road. 

The  "Dixon  Air  Line,"  "Chicago,  Burlington  and 
Quincy,"  "  Rock  Island,"  "  Chicago,  Alton  and  St.  Louis," 
"  Great  Western,"  "Terre  Haute  and  Alton,"  and  "Ohio 
and  Mississippi"  Rail-Roads,  are  all  now  in  running  order, 
east  and  west  across  the  State,  all  connecting  with  the 
"  Illinois  Central  Rail-Road,"  at  various  points.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  above,  the  "Fort  Wayne  and  Lacon," 
"Extension  of  Peoria  and  Oquawka,"  and  "Atlantic 
and  Mississippi  Rail-Roads,"  now  in  course  of  construc- 
tion, also  connect  with  the  "  Illinois  Central,"  and  open 
up  the  entire  State,  at  short  distances  apart.  By  com- 
pleting 650  miles  of  North  and  South  road,  this  Company 
has  formed  connections  with  all  these  East  and  West 
roads,  enabling  passengers  or  freight  to  reach  any  part 


of  this  State  or  the  United   States,  with    the  greatest 
expedition. 

At  every  ten  mik^s  throughout  its  entire  length,  com- 
modious station  and  freight  houses  have  been  erected, 
and  around  almost  every  one  of  these,  villnges  are  rapidly 
springing  up;  many  of  thom  already  containing  a  popu- 
lation of  from  500  to  2,500  persons,  where,  two  years  ago, 
there  was  not  a  single  house.  The  road  is  built  in  the 
most  superior  manner,  and  is  stocked  with  tlie  very 
best  locomotive  engines,  passenger  and  freight  cars. 
Charges  for  transportation  of  passengers  and  freight  are 
moderate. 


LOCATION  OF  THE  LANDS. 

The  lands  are  situated  on  each  side  of  the  Rad-Road 
between  Dunleith  and  Cairo,  on  the  main  line,  and  Chi- 
cago and  Centralia  on  the  Chicago  branch.  Traversing 
the  entire  State  from  north  to  south,  it  therefore  passes 
through  a  great  variety  of  climates,  and  purchasers  are 
enabled  to  suit  their  inclinations  in  their  selections. 
The  road  passes  immediately  over  some  of  the  lands; 
others  vary  in  distance  from  it,  from  one  to  fifteen  miles. 


PRICES  AND  TEEMS  OF  PAYMENT. 

The  prices  vary  from  $5  to  $25  per  acre,  according  to 
location,  quality,  distance  from  stations,  villages,  &c. 
Contracts  for  deeds  may  be  made  until  further  notice; 
stipulating  the  purchase  money  to  be  made  in  five  pay- 
ments, each  with  the  succeeding  year's  interest  added  in 
advance.  The  first  payment  to  be  made  in  two  years 
from  the  date  of  the  contract,  and  the  others  annually 
thereafter. 

Interest  will  he  charged  at  only  three  per  cent,  i^er  an- 


num.  As  a  security  for  the  performance  of  the  contract, 
the  first  two  years'  interest  must  be  paid  in  advance. 
For  instance,  suppose  you  buy  on  the  1st  of  March, 
1856,  eighty  acres  of  selected  prairie  land,  at  $10  per  acre, 
on  the  foregoing  terms.  Your  account,  until  a  deed  is 
given,  would  stand  thus  : 

March  1,  1856.     Received   contract  for  a  Deed  for  80  Acres  of 
Land,  at  $10  per  acre,  (S800,)  and  paid  two  years' 
Interest,  at  three  per  cenl.  per  annum,  in  advance,         .     $48  00 
««       "    1858.     Paid  first  instalment  of  principal,  being 

one-fiflhof$800, S160  00 

One  year's  Interest  in  advance  on  balance 
due,  ($640,)  at  three  per  cent,  per  annum,      .       19  20 — 179  20 
"       "    1859.     Paid  second  instalment,  being  one-fifth 

as  above,       .         •         .         •         .         .         .     160  00 
One  year's  Interest  in  advance  on  balance 

due,  ($480,)  as  above, 14  40—174  40 

"       ♦'   1860.     Paid  third  instalment,  being  one-fifth  ae 

above, 160  00 

One  year's  Interest  in  advance  on  balance 

due,  ($320.)  as  above, 9  60—169  60 

"       "   1861.     Paid  fourth  instalment,  being  one-fifth  as 

above, 160  00 

One  year's  Interest  in  advance  on  balance 

due,  ($160,)  as  above, 4  80—164  80 

"       "   1862.     Paid  fiftli  instalment,  being  one-fifth  as 

above,  and  receivcfd  Deed,      ....  160  00 

Making  the  full  payment,  principal  and  interest,  .  $896  00 

It  must  be  understood,  however,  that  at  least  one- 
tenth  of  the  lands  purchased  shall  be  fenced  and  culti- 
vated each  year,  for  five  years,  so  as  to  have  one-half  of 
the  purchase  under  improvement  by  the  time  the  last  pay- 
ment becomes  due.  It  will  also  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
until  the  payments  are  made,  and  the  deed  of  conveyance 
granted,  these  lands  are  not  subject  to  taxation  by  the 
22d  Section  of  the  Act  of  the  Legislature,  approved 
Feb.  10th,  1851. 


FUEL. 

Great  misconception  exists  at  the  East  in  regard  to 
fuel ;  the  want  of  which  is  not  a  matter  of  inconvenience 
to  our  farmers.  Wood  is  dehvered  at  the  stations  along 
the  line  of  the  road,  at  from  $3  to  $4  per  cord.  In  the 
central  and  southern  portions  of  the  State,  it  is  afforded 
in  some  places  as  low  as  $2  per  cord.  Bituminous  Coal, 
of  the  best  quality^  is  found  at  various  points  along  the 
road,  and  sells  at  from  $1  50  to  $4  per  ton.  Mines 
are  now  being  worked  at  convenient  distances  all  over 
the  State,  and  the  completion  of  the  various  East  and 
West  rail-roads,  guarantees  a  constant  supply  at  reason- 
able rates.  Old  residents  in  the  State  consider  this  Coal 
more  economical  as  fuel,  even  when  they  have  to  haul 
it  a  considerable  distance,  than  to  cut  wood  on  their 
own  farms. 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  LAND  FOR  FARMING  PURPOSES. 

Illinois  is  known  throughout  the  United  States  as  the 
Garden  State  of  the  Union,  and  from  the  extraordinary 
fertility  of  its  soil,  is  justly  entitled  to  the  name.  Its 
vast  tracts  of  rich  rolling  land  were  called  by  the  first 
French  settlers  "Prairies,"  which,  translated,  means 
"natural  meadows,"  and  such  they  are;  almost  the 
whole  State  is  a  natural  meadow,  lying  in  high,  beauti- 
fully rolling  or  gently  undulating  Prairies,  with  a  soil  of 
surpassing  and  inexhaustible  fertility,  all  ready  for  the 
plough,  without  a  rock,  stump  or  even  stone  to  interrupt 
its  action.  The  difficulties  experienced  in  the  Eastern 
States,  or  in  Western  timbered  States,  in  bringing  lands 
under  cultivation,  are  unknown  here ;  the  soil  is  readily 
turned  over  at  the  rate  of  two  acres  to  two  acres  and  a 


8 

half  a  day,  by  a  heavy  team  of  horses  or  two  yoke  of 
oxen,  or  it  may  be  contracted  to  be  worked  at  from  $2 
to  $3  per  acre,  and  an  active  practical  man  can  readily 
cultivate  ten  acres  here,  against  one  in  the  Eastern  or 
Middle  States,  taking  them  as  they  run,  while  the  yield 
per  acre  will  be  infinitely  greater.  With/ar  less  labor^ 
a  farm  purchased  here  at  the  low  rates  ruling  at  present, 
will  yield  more  than  one  there  valued  at  $100  to  $150 
per  acre.  Tiie  soil  is  a  dark,  rich  vegetable  mould, 
varying  from  two  to  eight  feet  in  depth,  capable  of  pro- 
ducing any  thing  in  the  greatest  profusion,  which  will 
grow  in  these  latitudes  at  all,  and  absolutely  inexhausti- 
ble in  its  fertility.  Instances  could  be  multiplied  of 
land  cropped  for  twenty  to  thirty  successive  years,  with- 
out the  addition  of  a  pound  of  manure,  on  which  the 
growth,  last  season,  was  just  as  vigorous  and  the  yield  as 
profuse,  as  on  any  other  of  the  scries.  Crossing  the 
prairies,  are  belts  of  white  oak,  hickory,  black  walnut, 
ash  and  maple  timber,  of  excellent  quality,  generally 
following  the  courses  of  the  streams,  varying  from  half  a 
mile  to  five  miles  in  width,  in  many  places  running  far 
out  on  the  prairie,  or  scattered  in  groves  here  and  there 
over  its  surface.  The  State,  as  a  general  thing,  is  loell 
watered,  the  streams  usually  running  over  sandy  or  stony 
beds ;  besides  ponds  of  constant  stock-water,  which  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  prairies.  For  household  pur- 
poses, excellent  soft  water  is  found  at  from  10  to  25 
feet  in  depth,  generally  springing  from  a  strata  of  sand. 
Settlers  from  the  East  are  always  agreeably  disappointed 
in  the  character  of  the  land  in  this  respect ;  a  prevailing 
though  erroneous  impression  having  gone  forth,  that  on 
the  prairies  good  water  was  difficult  to  be  found.  The 
first  crop,  on  newly-broken   prairie,  is   generally   Sod 


Corn ;  as  this  requires  no  cultivation  between  planting 
and  gathering,  the  farmer  has  ample  time  to  get  things 
comfortable  about  him,  and  prepare  the  land  for  sowing 
winter  wheat  before  cold  weather  comes  on.  From  this 
sod  crop  it  is  the  expectation  to  realize  sufficient  to  pay 
the  cost  of  breaking,  improvements  and  general  expen- 
ses, placing  the  land  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation  on  the 
opening  of  the  second  season.  It  has  averaged  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  bushels  per  acre,  often  running  up 
to  fifty.  Wheat  averages  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
bushels  per  acre,  frequently  reaching  thirty-eight  and 
forty,  and  during  the  past  season  has  been  selling,  at  the 
various  rail-road  stations,  at  from  $1  35  to  $1  50  per 
bushel.  The  second  crop  of  corn  averages  from  sixty 
to  eighty  bushels,  frequently  giving  one  hundred. 

By  the  great  net-work  of  rail-roads,  reaching  all 
portions  of  the  State,  every  farmer  is  comparatively  near 
a  market ;  since,  owing  to  the  competition  amongst 
Chicago  buyers,  each  rail-road  station  becomes  a  local 
market  for  the  producer,  where  Chicago  prices,  less  the 
expense  of  transportation,  can  be  readily  commanded. 
Chicago  is  now  tlie  greatest  Grain  depot  in  the  World : 
Thirteen  rail-roads,  all  of  great  length,  centre  here, 
keeping  all  parts  of  this  State  and  the  United  States  in 
constant  and  close  connection  with  it.  Vessels  have 
loaded  at  its  docks  direct  for  Liverpool,  to  go  through, 
via  the  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence,  without  any  tranship- 
ment of  cargo;  and  from  its  superior  harbor  and  extra- 
ordinary natural  position,  it  must  ever  be  the  great 
centre  of  trade  for  the  West  and  Northwest.  To  the 
settler  in  the  central  and  southern  portions  of  the  State, 
peculiar  advantages  are  opened  by  the  completion  of 
the  ''  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rail-Road,"  and  its  connec- 


10 

tion  with  the  "  Ilhnois  Central,"  enabling  him  to  com- 
mand the  Chicago  market  to  the  North,  St.  Louis  to  the 
West,  Cincinnati  to  the  East,  and  the  Mississippi  towns  and 
New-Orleans,  via  Cairo,  to  the  South.  This  is  a  particu- 
larly desirable  section  for  producing  grain  or  choice 
fruit,  or  raising  stock;  and  is  already  considerably  settled 
by  a  most  substantial  forming  population,  which  has 
grown  up  into  comfort  and  aflflueuce  by  its  surprising 
advance  in  productiveness  and  wealth.  The  soil  there 
is  of  a  warmer  nature,  the  winters  mild  and  springs 
early ;  grain  matures  several  weeks  before  that  in  the 
Genessee  Vallies,  and  reaching  the  Eastern  markets  so 
much  in  advance  of  all  others,  commands  the  high  rates 
always  ruling  before  the  incoming  of  new  crops.  Atten- 
tion is  requf^sted  to  the  letters  from  Messrs.  Root,  Arter, 
Gilson,  Phillips  and  Williams,  residents  of  this  section, 
as  illustrative  of  what  may  be  there  accomplished. 

Land  may  be  selected  in  accordance  with  the  individ- 
ual tastes  of  purchasers ;  some  sections  of  country  are 
best  adapted  to  corn,  others  to  wheat,  some  producing 
both  equally  well ;  some  again  seem  peculiarly  favorable 
to  stock  raising,  others  to  fruit  growing  or  fancy  garden- 
ing; some  portions  are  heavily  timbered;  on  some,  tim- 
ber just  covers  one  corner,  or  is  scattered  in  occasional 
groups  or  groves.  Frequently,  in  a  single  section  of  640 
acres,  all  these  qualities  are  combined,  together  with 
living  water ;  and  the  settler  finds  a  home,  only  requiring 
a  moderate  expenditure  of  labor  to  establish  him  com- 
fortably for  life. 

The  system  of  long  credits  and  low  rates  of  interest 
established  by  the  Company,  is  estimated  by  experienced 
farmers  in  the  State,  as  being  worth,  to  the  actual  settler, 
from  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent,  per  annum,  by  enabling 


11 

him  to  invest  his  ready  money  immediately  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  land,  so  that  from  his  being  able  to  take 
lip  so  much  more  than  the  man  who  locks  up  his  funds 
in  a  cash  purchase,  and  the  immense  returns  from  land 
placed  under  cultivation,  he  soon  finds  himself  far  in 
advance.  In  proof  of  this,  instances  could  be  multiplied, 
of  parties  who  have  cleared  the  entire  cost  of  their  lands 
over  and  over  again  from  a  single  crop ;  and  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  letters  appended  to  this  pamphlet,  for 
numerous  examples  of  the  more  average  success  of  prairie 
farming  operations. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  SETTLING  IN  ILLINOIS. 

Settlers  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  country  west  of 
the  Mississippi  is  not  yet  opened  by  rail-roads ;  and  in 
the  opinions  of  even  the  most  sanguine,  will  not  be  in 
less  than  five  years  time.  Also,  that  the  lands  along  the 
water  courses  and  proposed  lines  of  rail-roads  have  been 
entered  by  speculators,  and  are  held  at  high  rates,  and 
invariably  for  cash.  The  farmer,  therefore,  is  either 
obliged  to  pay  a  high  cash  jprice  for  his  land,  or  to  go 
some  distance  from  a  market,  thereby  incurring  great 
expense  in  the  transportation  of  his  material  and  crops. 
Now  the  very  difference  realized  in  the  sales  of  crops  in 
such  a  State  as  Illinois,  opened  as  it  is  with  rail-roads 
through  every  part,  and  markets  at  every  station,  over 
those  ruling  west  of  tlie  river,  would,  in  five  years  time, 
pay  the  difference  in  the  first  cost  of  land  over  and  over 
again  ;  and  in  the  end,  leave  an  estate,  vastly  more  valua- 
ble, from  its  being  so  much  nearer  a  market,  in  the  centre 
of  a  well-improved,  highly  cultivated  State,  and  forever 
clear  of  the  expense  which  must  be  incurred  by  the  tran- 


12 


shipment  in  crossing  the  Mississippi,  and  the  freights  to 
be  paid  on  a  greater  distance  of  transportation. 


ADVANTAGES  FOR  MECHANICS,  LABORERS,  &c.,  &c. 

There  is  work  enough  for  all  who  can  come ;  towns 
and  villages  are  springing  up  with  unexampled  rapidity ; 
great  districts  of  country  are  being  settled,  and  internal 
improvements  keeping  pace  with  the  general  advance  of 
the  population  and  wealth.  For  many  years  to  come,  in 
all  human  probability,  this  rate  of  progression  and 
increase  must  be  sustained,  and  mechanical  labor  con- 
tinue to  be  in  constant  demand.  The  prudent,  indus- 
trious laborer  can  also  depend  upon  continued  employ- 
ment at  fair  wages  ;  and  if  economical,  may  readily  save 
sufficient  from  the  proceeds  of  a  year's  work,  to  make  the 
advance  interest  payment  required  by  the  Company  to 
secure  a  piece  of  land  for  liis  farm  ;  thus  starting  upon  hjis 
career  to  independence  and  probable  wealth. 


MINERALS,  COAL,  LUMBER,  &c.,  &c. 

The  Company  owns  valuable  tracts  of  Iron,  Lead  and 
Zinc  Ores,  also  Coal ;  and  forests  of  the  most  valua- 
ble White  Oak,  Black  Walnut,  Hickory  and  Cypress  tim- 
ber; rights,  for  the  working  of  which,  may  be  obtained 
upon  application  at  this  office.  Excellent  opportunities 
for  erecting  steam  mills  exist  at  points  where  a  great 
local  demand  may  be  had,  as  well  as  rail-road  facilities 
for  conveying  the  lumber  to  all  parts  of  the  State. 
When  the  amount  of  building  now  going  on  throughout 
the  State  is  taken  into  consideration,  a  glance  at  such 
■opportunities  must  be  sufficient  for  the  practical  operator. 


13 


ILLINOIS 


Is  now  in  the  start  of  its  great  advance  towards  be- 
coming the  first  producing  State  in  the  Union.  Having 
Lake  Michigan  on  one  side,  furnishing  a  constant  outlet 
for  its  produce,  the  Mississippi  to  the  west,  with  its  tri- 
butaries, the  Illinois  and  Rock  rivers,  both  navigable 
streams,  running  far  into  its  interior,  the  Wabash  on 
its  eastern  borders,  and  Ohio  on  the  south,  the  natural 
facilities  would  seem  unequalled  in  the  world.  But, 
added  to  these,  is  a  system  of  internal  improvements  un- 
surpassed by  any  other  of  the  States.  The  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  intersects  it  from  east  to  west,  and 
numerous  rail-roads  cross  and  re-cross  in  every  direc- 
tion. Its  hamlets  are  becoming  towns,  its  towns  cities, 
and  its  vast  prairies  occupied  and  cultivated  by  a  most 
Substantial  and  respectable  farming  population.  Every- 
thing seems  to  be  flourishing,  and  wealth  and  general 
prosperity  rewarding  every  adventure.  For  young 
men,  wearied  with  struggling  against  the  competitions 
and  difficulties  of  advancement  in  the  older  States,  this 
seems  a  field  peculiarly  suited  to  their  aims  and  ambi- 
tions ;  requiring  but  a  moderate  investment  of  capital, 
large  returns  await  the  prudent  and  industrious  operator. 
The  reader  can  see,  from  the  perusal  of  the  letters  ac- 
companying this  pamphlet,  what  has  been  accomplished 
by  others,  starting  under  far  more  adverse  circumstances 
than  now  exist ;  and  when,  upon  such  a  soil  as  this  has 
been  proved  to  be,  attended  with  all  the  facilities,  natu- 
ral and  artificial,  which  have  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
it,  the  more  scientific  and  economical  system  of  agricul- 
ture pursued  in  older  countries  is  directed — the  reality 
must  surpass  the  most  sanguine  expectations  at  present 
entertained. 


14 


COST  OF  MOVING  TO  CHICAGO. 

FARES  FROM  NEW-YORK  TO  CHICAGO,  BY  THE  DIFFERENT  ROUTES 

First  Class.    Emigrant, 
Via  HuJson  River,  New- York  Central,  Great  Western, 
(Canada,)  and  Michigan  Central  Roads,  (distance  9G1 
miles,) 822  00       $10  00 

Via  Hudson  River,  New-York  Central,  Buffalo  and 
Brantford,  (Canada,)  Great  Western,  (Canada,)  and 
Michigan  Central  Roads,  (967  miles,)  .         .     22  00         10  00 

Via  Hudson  River,  New-York  Central,  Buffalo  and  Erie, 
Cleveland  and  Toledo,  and  Michigan  Southern  Roads, 
(distance  963  miles,)    .         , 22  00         10  00 

Via  New- York  and  Erie  to  Niagara  Falls  Great  Western, 
(Canada,)  and  Michigan  Central  Rail-Roads,  (distance 
960  miles,) 22  00         10  00 

Via  New- York  and  Erie  to  Buflfalo,  Buffalo  and  Brant- 
ford, (Canada,)  Great  Western,  (Canada,)  and  Michi- 
gan Central  Roads,  (distance  950  miles,)      .         .         .     22  00       -10  00 

Via  New-York  and  Erie,  Buffalo  and  Erie,  Cleveland 
and  Erie,  Cleveland  and  Toledo,  and  Michigan  South- 
ern Rail  Roads,  (distance  960  miles,)   .        .         .         .22  00         10  00 

In  summer,  the  fares  by  the  above  routes  will  be  about         18  00  8  00 

In  summer,  passengers  can  go,  via  New-York  and  Erie, 
or  Hudson  River  and  New-York  Central,  to  Buffalo, 
there  connecting  with  Lake  Erie  steamers  to  Detroit  or 
Monroe,  thence  by  Michigan  Roads  to  Chicago.     Fare      16  00  8  00 

In  summer,  also,  passengers  can  lake  steamers  on  the  Hudson  River  to 
Newburg,  there  connecting  wiih  New-York  and  Erie  Road;  or  to  Albany, 
there  connecting  with  New-York  Central  Road.  Fare,  one  dollar  less  than 
above. 

Children  over  four  years  and  under  twelve  years,  half  price  ;  under  four 
years,  free.     Extra  baggage,  over  one  hundred  pounds,  $2  per  hundred. 

Freight  on  farming  tools  and  furniture,  $1  50  per  hundred  pounds,  which 
should  be  boxed  in  packages  not  '.oo  large,  well  hooped,  and  plainly  marked 
with  paint,  and  not  with  cards. 

Prices  from  Boston  and  Philadelphia  range  at  about  the  same  rales. 


15 


Prices  given  for  Corn,  Wheat  and  Oats,  at  the  Chicago  Market, 
during  the  year  of  1854. 


SPRING 

WINTER 

MONTHS. 

CORN. 

WHEAT. 

WHEAT. 

OATS. 

January, 

33  to  40 

93  to     95 

106  to  115 

26 

to  26^ 

February, 

45  "  46 

117  "  VIO 

130   "    140 

30 

"  31 

March, 

49  "  50 

104  "   lOfi 

120  "   130 

27 

"  281 

April,     . 

43  "  44 

lUO  "   102 

112   "   120 

261 

u  27 
"'31 

May,  . 

43  "  45 

125  "  130 

140  "   150 

30 

June, 

45  "  46 

128  "  13(1 

140   "  150 

30 

"  311 

July, 

50  "  51 

95  "   100 

115  "   120 

31 

"  33 

Aui);ust,  . 

54  "  55 

95   "   110 

140  "  150 

29 

"  30 

September, 

60  "  61 

100  "    120 

130   "   140 

32 

"  33 

October,  . 

54  "  55 

90  "   lOA 

130  "   140 

33 

"  34 

November,  . 

50  "  62 

120  "   125 

130   "   145 

32 

"  33 

December, 

46  "  47 

100  "   110 

112   "   125 

23 

"  28 

Prices  given  for  Corn   "Wheat  and  Oats,  at  the  Chicago  Market, 
during  the  year  of  1855. 


SPRING 

WINTER 

MONTHS. 

CORN. 

OATS.        1 

WHEAT. 

WHEAT. 

January, 

• 
48  to  50 

113  to  120 

128  to  135 

27 

to  28 

February, 

48  "  50 

115  "   120 

125   "   135 

27 

"  28 

March, 

50  "  55 

115  "   130 

125  "   140 

34 

"  35 

April, 

55  "  62 

135  "  150 

150  "   187i- 

40 

"  48 

May,  . 

72  "  78 

150  "  170 

160  "  175 

45 

"  52 

June, 

70  "  80 

150  "   1H2 

158   "   1(55 

40 

"  48 

July,  . 

70  "  75 

150  "   156 

155   "   165 

45 

"  50 

August,  . 

63  "  68 

110  "   125 

133   "   140 

26 

"  30 

September,  . 

63  "  68 

103  "   130 

120   "   155 

26 

"  30 

October,  . 

63  "  68 

128  "   160 

155   "  180 

25 

"  23 

November,  . 

60  "  65 

145   "   152 

155  "   162 

26 

"   31 

December, 

50  "  55 

128  "   136 

135  "   145 

26 

"  29 

16 


What  Articles  it  will  be  best  to  bring  out  from  the  East. 

Furniture. — Highly  fiiiished  and  costly  furniture  is 
mostly  all  brought  from  the  East,  and  sold  at  a  large 
advance  in  the  West.  If  you  use  such  furniture,  it  will 
pay  you  to  have  what  you  require  boxed  up  and  sent 
out  from  the  East.  Plain,  substantial  furniture,  such  as 
is  generally  used  in  farm-houses,  can  be  had  here,  nearly, 
if  ngt  quite  as  cheap  as  at  the  East.  Stores  of  all  kinds 
can  be  bought. at  reasonable  prices. 

Agricultural  Tools. — Small  agricultural  tools  are 
more  extensively  made  at  the  East ;  but  reaping,  mow- 
ing and  threshing  machines  are  extensively  made  at  the 
West.  Spades,  shovels,  &c.,  you  buy  cheaper  at  the  East ; 
but  ploughs  of  different  kinds  you  can  buy  as  reasonably 
here. 

Cows  AND  Oxen. — Good  milch  cows  can  be  bought  at 
from  $20  to  $30.  Good,  well-broke  working  oxen  can 
be  had  at  from  $75  to  $150  per  yoke. 

Horses  vary  from  $75  to  $150  each.  At  these  prices, 
good,  strong-limbed,  healthy  animals  can  be  purchased, 
suitable  for  farms.  Horses  are  extensively  and  cheaply 
raised  on  the  prairies  for  the  Eastern  market,  and  afford 
large  profit. 


Reaping  and  Threshing  with  Machinery  by  Contract. 

Reaping  Machines  are  almost  altogether  used  at  the 
West.  They  cost  $125.  They  will  cut  fourteen  acres 
of  wheat  per  day.  Contracts  for  reaping  are  made  at 
62^  cents  per  acre.  The  contractor  furnishes  a  driver, 
raker  and  horses  ;  the  Hirmer  finds  binders  and  shockers. 


17 

Threshing  Machines  will  thresh  300  bushels  per  day. 
It  is  generally  contracted  to  be  done  at  4  cents  per 
bushel,  the  contractor  furnishing  four  horses  and  three 
hands ;  the  farmer  four  more  horses  and  five  more  hands, 
making  in  all  eight  hands,  viz. :  one  driver,  one  feeder, 
one  measurer,  one  to  pitch  sheaves,  one  to  cut  bands, 
and  three  to  take  away  straw. 


FENCING. 


An  abundant  supply  of  lumber  or  timber  for  building 
or  fencing  can  be  easily  procured ;  but  the  Osage  Orange 
plant  has  been  extensively  introduced,  and  is  rapidly 
supplanting  all  other  kinds  of  fencing.  Being,  at  the 
same  time,  more  permanent  and  secure  than  any  other, 
and  highly  ornamental,  it  must  soon  be  universally  em- 
ployed. It  can  be  raised  by  contract  at  75  c.  per  rod ; 
parties  making  a  business  of  preparing  the  ground,  set- 
ting out  the  plants,  and  cultivating  and  trimming  them 
until  a  perfect  hedge  is  produced  for  the  settler.  For 
this,  one-third  of  the  contract  money  is  paid  upon  the 
setting  out  of  the  plants,  and  the  balance  when  the 
fence  is  completed,  without  interest.  Farmers  prefer- 
ring to  raise  plants  from  the  seed,  or  procure  them  from 
nurseries,  tending  the  hedge  themselves,  can  probably 
procure  their  fence  more   economically  than  by  con- 


TOWN    LOTS. 

At  about  every  ten  mile^  along  the  road,  the  Company 
have  erected  large  and  commodious  passenger  and 
freight  houses.     Around  most  of  these,  dwellings  and 

2 


18 

stores  have  been  erected  since  the  completion  of  the 
rail-road.  Merchants  and  mechanics  are  gathering  at 
these  stations,  to  accommodate  the  wants  of  the  rapidly- 
growing  forming  population  surrounding  them.  At  most 
of  the  stations  the  Company  own  the  town  sites.  Lots 
are  offered  on  extremely  liberal  terms,  to  any  who  wish 
to  purchase  and  build  on  them. 

Great  opportunities  are  offered  at  these  various  stations 
for  embarking  in  the  mercantile  business,  dealing  in  lum- 
ber or  grain,  pork  and  beef-packing,  or  in  a  general 
produce  business.  A  country  so  fruitful  and  productive, 
with  a  population  rapidly  filling  it  up,  must  make  each 
and  all  of  these  profitable. 


FURTHER  INFORMATION. 

Sectional  Maps  of  the  Lands  of  the  Company,  showing 
the  precise  position  of  every  piece  of  land  in  various 
parts  of  the  State,  owned  b^  the  Company,  can  be  had 
at  the  Chicago  Land  Office,  by  remitting  50  cents  in 
postage  stamps.  Plats  of  their  towns  at  the  various 
stations  throughout  the  State  can  also  be  seen  at  that 
office.  For  any  further  information,  apply  personally  or 
by  letter,  in  Enghsh,  French  or  German,  to 

JOHN  WILSON, 

Land  Commissioner, 

Illinois  Centred  B.  R.  Co.,  Chicago. 

Land  Department,  III.  C.  E.  R.  Co.,  ) 
Chicago,  January  1,  1856.  j" 

Office,  in  Illinois  Central  R.  R.  Depot  Buildings. 


LETTERS  IN  REGARD  TO  SOIL,  ETC. 


LETTER  FROM  G.  W.  GILSON. 


Centralia,  Marion  Co.,  Illinois,  ) 
December  20,  1855.  ) 

Hon.  John  Wilson, 

Land  Commissioner : 

Dear  Sir, — You  have  requested  my  views  in  regard  to  the  advan- 
tages and  prospects  of  Illinois ;  and  it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  be 
able  to  answer  you.  I  have  resided  in  the  State  for  nineteen  years,  and 
may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  possessing  some  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject I  am  writing  about.  I  have  seen  many  changes,  and  the  results  of 
many  operations  for  advancing  our  position.  I  have  seen  the  dreary 
times  when  our  farmers  had  to  live  in  isolated  positions,  haul  their  crops 
long  distances  to  a  market,  and  then  sell  at  low  rates,  taking  goods  in 
exchange  as  part  payment ;  and  I  see  them  now  with  rail-roads  passing 
all  around  them,  and  markets  established  within  the  convenient  reach 
of  every  one  of  them.  Large  as  has  been  the  accession  to  our  popula- 
tion during  a  few  years  past,  in  my  opinion  the  coming  season  will  show 
an  immensely  greater  increase  still.  The  maps  and  advertisements  of 
your  Company  have  found  their  way  into  the  hands  of  eager  men,  who, 
from  the  sterile  hills  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  view  with  amazement 
the  rapid  progress  of  this  mighty  valley  of  the  West.  The  tide  of 
prosperous  commerce,  which  is  sending  its  rich  treasures  to  the  East, 
from  our  ocean  of  agricultural  wealth,  in  its  return  brings  back  the 
necessary  means  of  increase ;  and  thus  each  year  is  destined  to  add  to 
the  almost  boundless  development  of  the  resources  of  our  State. 

Illinois  is  by  far  the  most  important  agricultural  State  in  the  Union, 
and  affords  the  greatest  inducements  to  emigrants.     It  has  more  acres 


20 

of  good  arable,  and  fewer  acres  of  waste  land  than  any  other  State.  It 
has,  along  its  borders,  and  through  its  area,  more  miles  of  navigable 
streams,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  canals  in  the  world, 
connecting  the  Northern  lakes  with  the  Mississippi  river;  and  rail- 
roads in  every  direction,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  net-work  of  iron  over 
its  rich  and  fertile  prairies.  Mines  of  iron,  coal,  lead  and  other  min- 
erals, underlay  these  beautiful  savannahs ;  and  a  salubrious,  even  cli- 
mate makes  redolent  with  health  the  happy  families  who  here  found 
their  prosperous  homes. 

Iowa,  though  much  talked  of  at  the  East,  can  hold  no  comparison 
with  our  "  Prairie  State,"  Settlers  going  over  there  find,  to  their  cost, 
that  the  land  speculator  has  been  before  them,  selecting  the  desirable 
locations,  and  holding  them  at  cash  prices,  equal  to,  and  often  far  be- 
yond the  credit  rates  in  Illinois.  Along  each  stream,  all  possible  future 
rail-road  routes,  and  near  every  market  station,  he  has  been  there  first, 
and  the  settler  must  press  further,  further  back,  and  doom  himself  to 
hard,  unprofitable  labor,  in  an  isolated  position  for  years  to  come.  Land 
speculators  will  be  the  great  cuise  of  Iowa  for  a  whole  generation  to 
come.  They  are  locking  up  the  resources  of  the  State,  preventing  its 
improvement,  and  constituting  themselves  a  perfect  pest  to  the  actual 
settler.  Large  tracts  of  land  have  been  entered,  and  are  now  held  by 
foreign  capitalists,  who  intend  to  keep  them  out  of  the  market  until  the 
improvements  of  others  have  enabled  them  to  realize  immense  profits. 
Suppose  a  farmer  from  the  East  to  make  a  selection  in  the  midst  of 
one  of  these  tracts ;  he  can  have  no  knowledge  of  how  the  land  around 
him  may  be  held,  and  would  havs  to  waste  his  whole  lifetime,  adding  to 
the  wealth  of  another,  from  whom  he  derives  no  reciprocal  advantage, 
but  on  the  contrary,  the  greatest  injury.  Again,  the  prices  are  actually 
higher  over  there  than  here.  I  have  known  of  lands,  thirty  miles  from 
a  market,  with  no  timber  or  stream  within  ten  miles,  to  be  held  at  from 
$10  a  $12  per  acre — one-half  cash,  and  the  balance  in  six  months  or  a 
year,  with  ten  per  cent,  interest.  The  settler  there  would  have  to  haul 
his  lumber  and  building  materials  thirty  miles,  giving,  to  start  with,  $22 
and  upwards  for  even  ordinary  lumber,  bring  his  produce  thirty  miles 
again  to  market,  and  then  receive  25  a  33  per  cent,  less  for  his  crops, 
than,  at  the  same  time,  the  farmer  in  Central  or  Southern  Illinois  would 
be  readily  commanding.  Allowing,  again,  that  Iowa  was  well  supplied 
with  rail-roads  now,  (though  such  a  state  of  things  cannot  be  expected 
in  less  than  ten  years'  time,)  and  allowing  that  the  settler  could  at  once 
secure  a  good  location  at  fair  prices,  still  his  neighbor  in  Illinois  would 


21 

have  the  advantage  over  him,  for  Chicago  is  now,  and  must  ever  be,  the 
centre  and  gathering  point  for  all  the  produce  West,  Northwest  and 
Southwest  of  it,  and  will  consequently  fix  the  standard  price  for  this  whole 
region  of  country  ;  and  all  the  producer  can  hope  to  get  for  his  crops 
will  be  Chicago  prices,  less  the  cost  of  transportation,  leaving  the  balance 
always  against  the  farmer,  as  he  recedes  from  the  centre  of  trade. 

Again,  in  Iowa  he  will  have  to  pay  far  higher  for  all  agricultural  tools, 
and  machinery,  all  materials  for  building,  as  well  as  the  little  luxuries 
of  life  ;  find  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  educate  his  children  ;  and, 
in  short,  for  many  years  suffer  all  the  social,  agricultural  and  general 
privations  and  wants  of  an  entirely  new  State. 

Now  turn  to  Illinois.  Here  we  have  such  a  net-work  of  rail-roads, 
not  on  paper,  but  in  actual  operation,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a 
settler  to  get  many  miles  away  from  one.  At  every  station  his  produce 
will  command  hard  cash,  at  nearly  Chicago  rates.  He  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  flourishing  State  in  the  Union  ;  in  a  perfectly  healthy  cli- 
mate, with  a  rich  soil,  plenty  of  fine  timber  and  good  water ;  abound- 
ing in  coal  and  minerals ;  and  where  he  can  obtain  the  best  of  land  on 
long  credits,  with  low  rates  of  interest  and  easy  payments.  How  much 
better,  then,  to  settle  here ;  for  the  next  ten  years  he  can  make  far  more 
per  annum  than  by  going  West  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  even  should  he 
pay  a  few  dollars  more  per  acre,  on  a  long  credit,  the  difference  in  re- 
ceipts on  a  single  crop  would  more  than  repay  it. 

By  the  terms  upon  which  your  company  disposes  of  its  lands,  the 
speculator  is  shut  out.  Let  the  settler  take  this  into  consideration; 
let  him  look  at  the  advantages  of  being  surrounded  by  actual  farmers 
only,  who  will  aid  immediately  in  making  roads,  building  churches  and 
schools,  and  all  other  local  improvements ;  let  him  study  your  terms 
for  lands  ;  here  he  can  buy  on  your  six  years'  credit — only  pay  three 
per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  use  of  his  money,  and  at  once  invest  his 
means  in  cultivating  the  purchase.  So  he  can  afibrd  to  buy  double  the 
amount  in  Illinois  that  he  can  in  Iowa ;  and  before  his  payments  are 
completed,  realize  at  least  two  hundred  per  cent,  on  the  money  thus 
used  in  cultivation. 

By  far  the  most  valuable  and  desirable  portion  of  our  State  has  as 
yet  received  but  little  attention  ;  and  many  of  our  best  farming  lands 
are  still  held  at  very  low  figures.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  the  tide  of 
emigration,  years  ago,  before  rail-roads  were  even  thought  of  out  here, 
poured  in  from  the  Lakes  and  Northern  Indiana,  seeking  the  Illinois  and 
Rock  rivers  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  their  crops.     Year  after  year  settlers 


22 

came  along,  locating  in  the  neigliborhood  of  these  pioneers,  and  thus 
forming  quite  large  settlements,  which  have  ever  since  attracted  more 
or  less  of  the  passing  emigrants.  Some  of  these  centres  were  also 
formed  in  Southern  Illinois,  but  not  having  the  large  navigable  streams 
so  near  at  hand,  did  not  progress  so  rapidly  as  the  others.  Now,  how- 
over,  the  streams  cease  to  be  essential,  the  rail-road  having  furnished  the 
necessary  outlet ;  and  these  fairest  sections  of  the  whole  State  lie  in  rich 
luxuriance,  inviting  the  energy  of  the  farmer  only  to  return  to  him 
their  choicest  rewards.  Southern  Elinois  has  more  timber,  and  a  soil 
better  adapted  to  the  production  of  wheat,  corn,  fruits  or  grasses  than 
the  northern  parts  of  the  State.  The  winters  are  far  shorter  and  less 
severe  ;  and  while  by  rail-road  the  settler  finds  easy  access  to  Chicago 
and  the  East,  he  is  also  in  close  proximity  to  the  uninterrupted  naviga- 
tion of  the  South.  Our  prairies  are  not  so  large  as  those  in  the  North, 
are  more  gently  undulating,  well  watered  by  small  streams,  and  have 
the  timber  scattered  over  them  to  better  advantage.  Our  climate  is 
mild,  regular  and  healthy.  We  are  exempt  from  sudden  and  severe 
changes,  and  able  to  pursue  farming  operations  to  far  greater  advantage 
and  vastly  greater  profit.  Our  stock  requires  but  little  housing  or  feed- 
ing up,  and  can  therefore  be  raised  more  economically,  while  we  have 
constantly  the  choice  of  the  four  great  markets,  Chicago,  St.  Louis, 
Cincinnati  and  New-Orleans,  for  the  disposal  of  our  produce.  If  East- 
ern farmers  would  give  this  section  a  fair  and  full  examination,  I  am 
persuaded  they  would  settle  here  at  once  ;  and  I  know  the  results  of 
their  operations  could  not  fail  to  be  highly  satisfactory. 

Such,  sir,  are  the  results  of  my  observation  and  experience  in  Illinois 
and  the  West.  They  are  at  your  disposal  if  you  think  fit  to  use  them, 
while  I  remain, 

Yours,  very  truly, 

GEORGE  W.  GILSON. 


LETTER  FROM  B.  G.  ROOTS. 

ROA,    I 

Dec.  27,  1855. 


Tamaroa,  Perrv  Co.,  III.,  ) 


Hon.  John  Wilsox, 

Land  Commissioner  : 
Dear  Sir, — In  March,  1837,  I  left  Massachusetts  for  Illinois.     During 
the  first  eighteen  months,  my  profession  of  civil  engineer  required  me  to 


23 

be  constantly  in  or  near  the  swamp  and  overjlowed  lands  in  tlie  extreme 
southeasterly  portions  of  this  State.  I  did  not,  however,  find  even  that 
section  as  sickly  as  I  had  expected,  though  an  occasional  shake  admon- 
ished me  that  while  engaged  in  that  occupation,  my  family  had  better 
remain  in  comfortable  quarters  at  home.  Seeing  that  this  State  offered 
superior  advantages  to  men  with  only  a  small  capital,  I  was  anxious  to 
locate  in  it ;  but  as  fully  determined  to  run  no  risk  as  to  the  health  of 
my  family.  After  extensive  examinations,  I  selected  the  tract  upon 
which  I  now  reside,  and  removed  my  family  from  the  East  to  it.  I  have 
since  become  well  acquainted  with  all  counties  south  and  east  of  the 
Illinois  river,  and  have  been  in  most  of  the  counties  in  the  south  half  of 
Wisconsin,  but  have  seen  none  healthier  than  this.  I  went  through  the 
country  above  spoken  of  before  we  had  rail-roads.  I  travelled  with  my 
own  conveyance,  and  stopped  at  the  farm-houses  at  night ;  every  house 
was  a  traveller's  home — for  there  were  few  taverns.  From  all  that  I 
have  seen,  I  fully  believe  that  the  prairies  in  the  south  part  of  this  State 
are  quite  as  healthy  as  any  other  section.  We  find  abundance  of  good 
water  by  digging — the  average  depth  of  wells  in  this  vicinity  being 
from  12  to  25  feet.  The  prairie  furnishes  excellent  pasturage;  but  it 
dries  up  earlier  in  the  fall  (unless  we  have  more  rain  than  usual)  than 
tame  pastures.  This  year,  cattle  did  well  upon  the  prairies,  until  late  in 
December ;  but  it  is  generally  expedient  to  feed  some  from  the  middle 
of  November  until  the  latter  part  of  March.  A  pasture  of  blue  grass 
will  sustain,  in  good  condition,  mules,  colts,  sheep,  drjr  cows  and  steers, 
ten  months  in  the  year.  As  we  had  no  means  of  exporting  wheat  until 
the  Illinois  Central  Rail-Road  opened  an  outlet,  it  was  not  sown  exten- 
sively until  the  fell  of  1854  ;  that  sowing  averaged  from  20  to  25  bushels 
per  acre,  of  most  excellent  wheat ;  most  of  which  was  manufactured 
into  flour,  and  sold  in  the  city  of  New-York,  before  the  crop  in  the 
northern  parts  of  the  State  was  even  cut. 

Fencing  is  the  hardest  work  which  a  new  settler  here  has  to  perform. 
Good  white  oak  rails,  laid  up  in  fence,  where  it  is  required,  are  worth 
from  $2  to  $3  per  hundred.  To  lessen  the  cost  of  fencing,  it  is  very 
desirable  for  several  friends  to  settle  together,  so  that  the  land  at  first 
may  be  enclosed  in  one  common  field.  4,704  rails  will  fence  20  acres; 
6,Y20  will  fence  40  acres;  13,440  rails  will  fence  160  acres;  28,880 
rails  will  fence  one  section,  or  640  acres. 

The  spring  following  that  which  the  prairie  sod  is  broken  up,  a  Ma- 
dura hedge  should  be  set  out  around  the  portion  chosen  by  each  indi- 
vidual.    Many  of  my  neighbors  make  their  own  hedges  ;  but  as  a  man 


24 

can  always  dispose  of  his  labor  to  advantage  here,  I  believe  it  cheaper 
to  buy  it  than  to  make  it.  Hedging  has  become  a  trade,  to  which  a 
class  of  men  devote  themselves.  They  furnish  the  plants,  set  them  in 
the  ground,  and  cultivate  them  for  four  years,  at  15  cents  per  rod  a 
year;  making  the  whole  cost  of  hedge  60  cents  per  rod.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  four  years,  when  the  last  payment  upon  the  hedge  is  due,  it  is  a 
perfect  barrier  against  bulls,  pigs  and  all  other  animals.  The  rails  of 
which  the  outside  fence  was  made  are  then  sold  to  somebody  else,  or 
used  to  make  interior  fences.  They  will  last  for  twenty  years,  and  I 
know  not  how  much  longer.  Sixteen  years  ago,  I  purchased  an  old  im- 
provement.    Most  of  the  rails  with  which  it  was  enclosed  are  still  good. 

New  prairie  is  broken  to  advantage  from  the  15th  of  April  to  the 
10th  of  July,  but  I  prefer  to  have  it  broken  from  the  10th  of  May  to 
the  10th  of  June.  That  which  is  broken  previous  to  the  10th  of  June, 
I  plant  in  corn,  which  yields  from  20  to  45  bushels  per  acre.  As  it 
receives  no  cultivation  after  it  is  planted,  it  is  more  affected  by  good  or 
bad  seasons  than  crops  which  are  cultivated.  That  which  is  broken  np 
after  the  10th  of  June  is  sown  with  wheat  in  September,  and  always 
yields  well.  Corn  which  is  planted  before  the  20th  of  May  is  often  cut 
np  and  wheat  sown  on  the  same  ground  in  September  or  October ;  but 
wheat  which  is  sown  so  late  is  sure  not  to  produce  as  well  as  that  sown 
early.  Oats  do  not  do  very  well  upon  prairie,  until  the  ground  has 
been  cultivated  two  or  three  years;  but  the  year  following  that  on 
which  it  is  first  broken  up,  it  is  in  excellent  condition  to  produce  wheat, 
barley,  corn,  flax-seed,  castor  beans,  and  every  kind  of  garden  vegetable 
which  is  raised  in  New-England,  and  excellent  sweet  potatoes  in 
abundance. 

With  a  good  plough  and  one  pair  of  good  horses,  one  man  can  break 
vp  one  and  a  half  acres  per  day  of  the  new  prairie.  A  good  yoke  of 
cattle  will  break  up  nearly  the  same  quantity  of  ground.  Two  good  yoke 
of  cattle  will  break  two  acres  per  day.  Previous  to  1853,  the  customary 
price  for  breaking  prairie  was  from  $1  50  to  $2  per  acre;  but  in  1853 
the  common  price  was  $2  60  per  acre;  and,  as  the  demand  for  labor 
always  exceeds  the  supply,  I  think  it  will  not  be  less  than  this  sum  for 
several  years  to  come. 

Common  farm  hands  receive  from  $110  to  $130  per  annum,  and  their 
board.  I  employ  a  good  practical  working  farmer,  who  takes  charge  of 
every  thing  pertaining  to  the  farm.  I  furnish  him  house,  garden  and 
fruit  trees,  free  of  rent,  and  pay  him  $250  per  annum.  He,  with  the  aid 
of  a  boy  twelve  years  of  age,  five  breeding  mares  and  $10  worth    f 


23 

occasional  aid,  attends  to  forty  acres  in  corn,  ten  in  wheat,  ten  in  oats, 
six  in  flax,  (cultivated  only  for  the  seed,)  ten  in  meadow  of  old  ground, 
and  breaks  up  and  plants  in  sod  corn  twenty  acres  of  new  prairie.  We 
commence  planting  corn  from  the  1st  to  the  20th  of  April,  and  finish 
from  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  June.  I  once  raised  an  excellent  crop  planted 
on  the  23d  of  June.  I  cut  up  my  corn  stalks  near  the  ground,  before  the 
frost  comes,  and  shock  it  up.  We  pull  the  ears  from  that  which  is  to  be 
fed  to  dry  cows  and  steers,  who  do  well  on  the  fodder  and  such  nubbins 
as  are  left  upon  it.  If  we  wish  to  fatten  cattle  in  the  winter,  we  give 
them  the  fodder  with  the  ears  all  remaining  on  it. 

At  the  stations  on  the  rail-road  we  can  sell  every  thing  we  can  spare 
at  nearly  Chicago  or  New-Orleans  prices,  less  the  cost  of  transportation. 
I  believe  the  charge  from  here  to  Chicago  is  24  cents  per  bushel. 

We  raise  what  is  here  called  sugar-corn,  to  eat  green.  We  have  it 
fit  for  cooking  from  the  20th  of  June  till  October.  We  raise  two  crops 
of  this  and  one  crop  of  turnips  on  the  same  ground  in  one  season.  We 
receive,  in  excellent  condition,  fresh  fish  from  the  lake,  via  Chicago,  and 
tropical  fruits  via  New-Orleans  and  Cairo.  The  facility  with  which  we 
dispose  of  whatever  we  have  to  sell,  and  procure  whatever  we  wish  to 
purchase,  the  mildness  of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  render 
this  a  most  desirable  residence.  If  farmers  will  once  visit  us,  they  will 
abandon  all  idea  of  settUng  in  Iowa.  After  a  farm  is  once  fenced, 
there  is  very  little  use  for  timber  land.  Coal  here  is  rapidhj  taMng 
the  place  of  wood,  as  fuel.  I  buy  coal  at  such  a  rate,  that  it  is 
cheaper  to  burn  it  than  to  prepare  wood  for  stoves  and  fire-places. 
Coal  is  so  abundant  that  all  Southern  Illinois  willalivays  be  supp)Ued  at 
a  low  rate. 

Numerous  saw-mills  are  being  erected  in  the  timber  along  the  rail- 
road, south  of  Big  Muddy  River.  Some  are  completed,  and  lumber 
yards  are  established  at  almost  every  station,  where  the  pine  of  the  North 
meets  the  poplar,  cypress,  black  walnut,  sycamore,  maple  and  oak,  from 
the  South.  There  are  saw-mills  in  the  smaller  portions  of  timber  which 
occur  at  short  intervals  in  this  part  of  the  State,  but  they  are  fully  occu- 
pied in  supplying  the  demand  in  their  immediate  vicinity. 

I  planted  an  orchard  of  apple  and  peach  trees  in  1843.  The  peach 
trees  commenced  bearing  in  1845,  and  the  apple  in  1847  ;  and,  althoiJgh 
the  yield  is  not  uniform  in  amount,  we  have  enough  excellent  fruit  every 
year.  My  cherries,  currants,  gooseberries  and  grapes  have  received 
very  little  attention,  but  they  yield  abundantly.  Clover  is  a  difiicult 
orop  to  start  well,  but  when  once  well  set,  it  thrives.     Timothy,  red-top 


26 

orchard  grass  and  blue  grass,  set  easily  after  the  prairie  Las  been  culti- 
vated, and  yield  well.  The  greatest  difficulty  here  is  the  want  of  labor. 
It  is  so  easy  to  become  the  owner  of  land,  that  almost  every  man  who 
is  worth  hiring,  becomes  the  owner  of  a  farm  within  a  few  years,  and 
wants  to  hire  laborers  himself. 

Very  respectfully, 

B.  G.  ROOTS. 


LETTER  FROM  JOHN  WILLIAMS. 

New-Albany,  Colks  County,  III.,  ) 
December,  23,  1855.  j" 

Hon.  John  Wilson,  Land  Commissioner: 

Sir, — I  will  now  comply  with  your  request  for  my  experience  as  a 
farmer  in  this  State ;  at  the  same  time  giving  you  permission  to  use  this 
letter  as  you  may  judge  will  tend  most  to  the  interest  of  the  State,  by 
inducing  industrious  men  living  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  possessing 
but  moderate  means,  to  come  on  to  these  rich  prairies,  where,  with  but 
a  small  investment,  they  can  build  up,  by  their  energy  and  prudence, 
comfortable  homes  and  handsome  farms.  And  not  only  will  these  do 
well,  but  also  for  the  man  of  wealth,  ambitious  of  an  extended  field  for 
operation,  no  place  can  be  more  desirable.  To  give  one  instance.  Let 
a  man  purchase  a  good  stock  location,  and  invest  his  money  the  coming 
spring  in  young  cattle,  at  a  cost  of  from  $2  50  a  $3  00  per  hundred, 
gross  weight;  the  grass  will  make  an  increase  of  50  per  cent,  on  the 
investment  by  fall,  with  the  sole  cost  of  a  boy  to  see  after  them,  that 
they  keep  together  by  day  and  are  pounded  at  night.  I  bought,  last 
fall,  one  hundred  and  twelve  head  of  cattle,  at  a  cost  of  $2  30  per 
hundred,  or  about  $25  50  per  head,  and  have  since  sold  them  for  beef, 
to  be  delivered  from  the  25th  to  28th  of  April,  at  %A  25  per  hundred, 
gross — with  the  hogs  that  follow  them  at  the  same  rate  ;  enabling  me, 
as  you  can  readily  see,  to  cash  my  grain,  at  a  first  rate  price.  At  my 
farm  the  cattle  will  bring  me  from  $48  to  $50  per  head,  besides  the  in- 
crease on  the  hogs, 

I  have  lived  in  Illinois  about  thirty  years,  and  have  seen  some  ups 
and  downs  in  tliat  time.  I  moved  from  Kentucky,  and  settled  first  in 
Vermillion  County ;  after  living  there  thirteen  years  I  moved  into  Cham- 
paign County,  lived  there  three  years  and  then  went  over  into  Piatt 


27 

County,  Missouri ;  not  having  seen  the  land  there  before  moving  out, 
and  finding  it  did  not  equal  my  expectations,  I  returned  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  Coles  County,  where  I  have  remained  ever  since ;  you  can 
therefore  see  that  I  have  been  over  some  of  the  West  in  search  of  the 
best  place  to  make  the  Almighty  dollar,  and  as  I  think  I  have  found  it, 
I  will  here  say  that  after  a  man  has  lived  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and 
farmed  its  rich  soil  for  a  few  years,  he  will  find  it  hard  work  to  hunt  up 
a  better  country.  When  I  first  settled  in  Vermillion  County,  the  repre- 
sentation of  our  district  comprised  all  the  State  lying  up  along  the  lake, 
including  Chicago,  which  then  consisted  only  of  the  old  block  fort  on 
the  lake  shore ;  at  that  time  we,  in  the  centre  of  the  State,  had  no 
market  for  any  of  our  produce ;  we  had  no  rail-roads,  and  were  forced 
to  kill  our  hogs  at  home,  team  them  to  Terre  Haute,  sixty  miles,  and 
then  get  $1  50  to  $2  per  hundred  weight,  taking  half  the  amount  in 
store  goods  at  a  very  high  figure.  So  farmers  had  to  work  along  in 
those  days.  I  have  known  corn  to  sell  for  5  to  8  cents  per  bushel,  and 
yet  even  then  they  did  well,  from  the  fact  that  they  could  raise  every 
thing  they  Avanted  to  eat,  and  in  abundance  to. 

As  I  said,  I  have  seen  some  ups  and  downs  in  Illinois.  In  1836  spec- 
ulations ran  high  in  land  and  town  sites ;  then  the  legislature  passed  an 
act  authorizing  the  construction  of  some  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  rail- 
road, of  which  none  was  built,  excepting  a  short  line  from  Springfield  to 
the  Illinois  river,  while  the  expectation  of  a  high  rate  of  taxation  turned 
the  course  of  emigration  into  Iowa ;  and  so  it  ran  on  for  a  few  years, 
until  people  found  out  that  in  passing  into  Iowa  they  left  behind  them 
the  best  and  richest  State,  and  that  all  their  ideas  about  high  taxation 
were  totally  wrong.  Then  came  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  to  negotiate  with  a  company  for  the  building 
of  a  long  line  of  rail-road  north  and  south  through  the  State,  and  the 
completion  of  this  has  ushered  in  the  new  era  of  prosperity  for  our 
State.  I  believe  we  have  now  about  twenty -five  hundred  miles  of  finished 
rail-road,  and  some  six  or  seven  hundred  miles  in  process  of  building 
which  gives  us  a  market  right  at  our  own  doors  for  all  we  can  raise. 
Times  have  changed,  indeed,  sir,  since  I  commenced  in  the  State.  In- 
stead of  5  or  8  cents  a  bushel  for  our.  corn,  we  now  get  25  to  40.  In- 
stead of  25  to  38  cents  for  wheat,  we  now  have  $1  25  to  $1  60  per 
bushel ;  and  in  place  of  spending  some  four  days  getting  to  Chicago, 
we  now  go  up  on  a  morning,  do  our  trading,  and  get  back  the  next 
day. 

I  can  raise  on  my  farm,  and  have  done  it,  60  to  100  bushels  of  corn, 


28 

to  the  acre;  30  to  40  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  every  ki ad  of 
vegetables  ia  the  greatest  abundance.  I  harvested  off  my  farm,  this 
season,  15,000  bushels  of  corn  ;  two  men  raised  for  me,  with  but  little 
more  than  their  own  labor,  about  7,000  bushels  of  corn  and  oats;  this 
corn  is  now  worth,  in  the  crib,  over  25  cents  per  bushel.  My  neighbors 
raised  from  25  to  38  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  sold  it  on  the  spot 
at  from  $1  25  to  $1  30  per  bushel.  Early  in  the  season,  Mr.  Cuthbert- 
son,  a  neighbor  of  mine,  sold  the  crop  of  wheat  off  of  50  acres  of  land, 
as  it  stood,  for  $1,500  cash.  I  will  just  say,  sir,  that  in  Coles,  Cham- 
paign, Vermillion,  Moultrie  and  the  adjoining  Counties,  are  as  good  lands 
as  the  sun  shines  upon  ;  the  soil  is  rich  and  deep ;  timber  first  rate ; 
water  fine  and  sweet ;  health  as  good  as  anywhere  in  the  States ;  and  if 
a  man  can't  come  here  and  clear  the  whole  cost  of  his  land,  improve- 
ments and  all  expenses,  from  two  or  three  crops,  he  ought  to  be  hooted 
out  of  the  State  as  not  fit  to  be  called  a  farmer.  I  have  never  been  sick 
one  whole  day  in  thirty  years,  and  there  has  been  but  one  death  in  this 
neighborhood  this  season.  A  man  can  now  come  into  this  State  and 
buy  lands  even  as  high  as  $15  per  acre,  and  make  them  pay  for  them- 
selves far  more  easily  than  I  could  when  I  bought  lands  at  $2  to  $3  per 
acre.  My  advice  to  farmers  in  the  East  is  to  leave  their  rocks  and  hills, 
where  they  are  just  grubbing  out  a  living,  and  come  on  to  these  splendid 
prairies  as  they  lie  all  ready  for  the  plough,  and  where  every  thing  which 
the  farmer  plants  yields  such  an  abundant  return.  Last  spring  I  thought 
T  would  go  over  into  Iowa  and  see  what  the  farmers  were  doing  there, 
so  I  went,  and  I'll  tell  you  what  I  found.  The  land  was  held  at  higher 
prices /or  cash^  than  you  could  buy  on  credit  in  this  State ;  all  the  best 
of  it  was  in  the  hands  of  speculators ;  it  was  not  a  good  winter  wheat 
country  ;  fruit  did  not  grow  so  as  to  be  depended  upon ;  there  was  no 
interior  market  for  produce,  except  the  demand  caused  by  emigration  ; 
lumber,  such  as  pine  boards,  cost  about  $75  per  thousand  feet,  at  the 
Fort,  and  salt  $10  per  barrel.  There  is  more  timber  in  my  county, 
(Coles,)  than  I  saw  in  any  four  in  Iowa,  and  I  came  back  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  there  is  no  State  in  the  whole  West  equal  to  Illinois,  after  all 
that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  others. 

These,  gentlemen,  are  my  scattering  thoughts  on  things  as  they  have 
passed  before  my  own  eyes  during  thirty  years  residence  in  this  State, 
or  travelling  over  the  neighboring  ones.  You  can  use  them  as  you  see 
fit,  while  I  subscribe  myself, 

Yours,  very  truly, 

JOHN  WILLIAMS. 


29 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  JOHN  S.  BARGER, 

OIVIKG    HIS    EXPERIENCE  IN    BREAKING  UP    AND    CULTIVATING  A  FARM   ITS 
THE    VICINITY    OF    THE    RAIL-ROAD. 

Clinton,  De  Witt  Co.,  Illinois,  ) 
January  22,  1855.  j 

Hon.  John  Wilson,  Land  Commissioner  : 

Dear  Sir, — Yours  of  the  Stli  ult.  was  received  a  few  days  since,  and 
I  now  answer  it,  as  soon  as  has  been  consistent  with  other  obligations. 

The  statistical  information,  in  the  form  of  facts,  substantiated  by 
farmers  throughout  the  State,  which  you  propose  embodying  in  your 
contemplated  circular,  designed  to  show  "the  result  of  well-directed 
efforts  in  Illinois  farming,"  and  to  which  I  have  the  honor  of  being  re- 
quested to  contribute,  I  regret  to  say,  I  am  not  so  well  prepared  to  give 
in  detail,  as  many  others,  from  whom  doubtless  you  will  obtain  it. 
Nevertheless,  I  may  at  least  say,  that  in  your  very  complimentary  re- 
mark, you  judge  correctly  in  part,  that  "among  those  who  have  broken 
up  the  wild  prairie,  and  by  judicious  management  realized  large  profits," 
I  have  been  "  very  successful."  Yet,  when  the  fact  is  known,  as  it  should 
be,  in  order  to  form  a  correct  judgment  in  my  case,  that  I  have  been  an 
itinerant  minister  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  without  any  cessation,  since 
1823,  (the  20th  year  of  my  age,)  it  will  be  reasonably  concluded  that  I 
would  have  been  yet  more  successful  had  my  efforts  and  management 
been  directed  by  the  superior  skill  of  a  well-trained  and  practical 
farmer. 

But,  as  you  have  particularly  requested  the  facts  in  my  own  case,  as 
heretofore  explained  to  you,  I  here  offer  these  facts,  taken  from  my 
memoranda,  for  whatever  use  you  may  think  proper  to  make  of  them, 
and  will  leave  the  other  details  you  desire  to  other  hands,  better  pre- 
pared to  give  them. 

From  1848  to  1850, 1  purchased,  in  De  Witt  County,  and  nearly 
adjoining  Clinton,  (the  County  seat,)  400  acres  of  fine  farming  land, 
through  which  the  Illinois  Central  Railway  passes,  and,  in  the  vicinity, 
three  timbered  lots,  containing  140  acres,  making  640,  at  a  cost  of 
81,513  19.  In  the  spring  of  1853  I  determined  to  make  my  farm,  and 
accordingly  contracted  for  the  breaking  of  300  acres,  at  $600  ;  also,  for 
making  400  rods  of  fence,  at  |4  75  per  100  rails  in  the  fence,  $494  19 ; 
making,  together,  $1,094  19.     Having  obtained  the  privilege  of  joining 


30 

to  720  rods  of  fence  on  adjoining  farms,  I  thus  enclosed  360  acres,  and 
had  280  prepared  for  seeding. 

The  breaking  was  done  from  the  2Vth  of  May  to  the  9th  of  July. 
The  greater  portion  of  this  ploughed  land  might,  therefore,  have  been 
planted  in  corn,  and  harvested  in  time  for  seeding  -n-ith  wheat ;  and 
thus  I  might  have  added  considerably  to  the  avails  of  the  first  year,  had 
I  not  been  80  miles  distant,  engaged  in  the  labors  of  the  Jacksonville 
district. 

I  paid  for  seeding  300  acres,     . 

"  "       325  bushels  seed  wheat,    . 

Add  the  cost  of  making  the  farm,    . 
I  paid  for  harvesting,  threshing,  sacking  and 

delivering  at  the  Clinton  Depot,  distant 

from  the  farm  from  i  to  l^-  miles,   . 
Making  the  entire  expenditure, 
Sold  at  the  Chnton  Depot,  4,378|f  bushels 

wheat,  for       .....         . 

I  kept  for  bread, 

Making  the  gross  income  of  the  first  year  of 
From  which  take  the  entire  expenditure,   . 

And  you  have  the  nett  proceeds  of  the  first  year,  . 
To  which  add  the  cost  of  making  the  farm, 


Makinsf  entire  avails  of  the  first 


year, 


$230  00 

243  75 

1,094  19 

$1,567  94 

1,650  00 

3,217  94 

4,378  82 

50  00 

. 

4,428  82 

• 

3,217  94 

ar,  . 

$1,210  88 

• 

1,094  19 

• 

$2,305  07 

Furthermore,  to  do  justice  to  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  and  to 
show  what  the  well-directed  eiforts  and  judicious  management  of  a  well- 
trained  and  practical  Illinois  farmer  would  have  done,  it  should  be  stated 
that,  at  least  in  my  judgment,  some  1,500  bushels  of  wheat  were  wasted 
by  untimely  and  careless  harvesting  and  threshing,  equal  to  $1,500  net 
proceeds.  Then  add  $55  33,  excess  of  payments  for  ploughing  and 
seeding  only  280  acres,  which  a  skilful  farmer  would  have  known  before 
making  his  contracts,  and  you  have  a  loss,  which  ought  to  have  been  a 
gain,  of  $1,555  33,  This  amount  saved  would  have  showed  the  avails 
of  the  first  year's  operation,  on  280  acres  of  the  farm,  to  have  been 
$3,860  40. 

Now,  sir,  if  one  under  such  circumstances,  with  but  little  more  than 
a  theoretical  knowledge  of  f^xrming  has  succeeded  even  thus  well,  hav- 


31 

ing  hired  all  the  labor,  and  mostly  at  very  high  prices,  how  much  larger 
profits  might  have  been  realized  by  a  skillful  and  practical  farmer,  de- 
voting his  whole  time  and  attention  to  his  appropriate  occupation.  How 
much  more  successful  thousands  of  farmers  and  farmers'  sons  on  our 
Eastern  seaboard  and  in  our  Eastern  States  might  be,  were  they,  or 
could  they,  be  induced  to  move  on,  and  apply  their  skill,  industry  and 
economy  in  the  cultivation  of  the  rich  and  productive  prairies  of  Illinois  ? 

Let  them  come,  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands — there  is  room 
enough — and  examine  the  country.  They  will  find  rich  lands  and  good 
water,  and  general  health,  almost  everywhere.  This  is  not  a  wilderness. 
They  will  find  schools  and  churches  springing  up  in  almost  every  settle- 
ment made,  and  now  being  made,  throughout  the  State.  Illinois  is  not 
a  moral  desolation.  It  literally  and  spiritually  "  blossoms  as  the  rose." 
Let  them  come  to  Chicago,  and  go  to  Galena,  and  visit  Cairo.  But  let 
them  not  remain  at  either  place,  unless  they  choose.  The  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Rail-Road  and  its  branches  traverse  the  finest  portion  of  the  globe. 
Let  them  glide  through  our  State,  on  these  and  other  roads,  now  check- 
ering almost  the  entire  of  this  "  Garden  of  the  Lord,"  and  stop  where 
they  will,  to  "  examine  the  land,  of  what  sort  it  is,"  and  they  will  no 
longer  consent  to  dig  among  the  rocks,  and  plough  the  sterile  lands  of 
their  forefathers.  But  they  will  long  bless  the  day  when  they  found  for 
themselves  and  their  children  such  comfortable  homes  as  they  still  may 
obtain,  in  this  rich  and  beautiful  prairie  State,  destined  soon  to  com- 
pare with,  nay,  to  surpass,  in  all  the  most  desirable  respects,  the  most 
prosperous  State  in  the  Union, 

I  will  now  give  you  a  concise  history  of  the  operations  of  Mr,  Funk, 
Both  before  and  since  his  marriage,  he  had  made  rails  for  his  neighbors 
at  twenty-five  cents  per  100.  But  when  the  lands  where  he  lived  came 
into  market,  25  years  ago,  he  had  saved  of  his  five  years'  earnings 
$1,400,  and  says,  if  he  had  invested  it  all  in  lands  he  would  now  have 
been  rich.  With  $200  he  bought  his  first  quarter  section,  and  loaned 
to  his  neighbors  $800,  to  buy  their  homes ;  and  with  the  remainina: 
$400  he  purchased  a  lot  of  cattle.  With  this  beginning,  Mr.  Funk  now 
owns  7,000  acres  of  land,  has  near  2,700  in  cultivation,  and  his  last 
year's  sale  of  cattle  and  hogs,  at  the  Chicago  market,  amounted  to  a 
little  over  $44,000, 

Mr.  Isaac  Funk,  of  Funk's  Grove,  nine  miles  distant  from  his  brother 
Jesse,  and  ten  miles  northwest  from  Bloomington,  on  the  Mississippi 
and  Chicago  Rail-Road,  began  the  world  in  Illinois  at  the  same  time, 
having  a  little  the  advantage  of  Jesse,  so  far  as  having  a  little  borrowed 


ax 

capital.  He  now  owns  about  27,000  acres  of  land,  lias  about  4,000 
acres  in  cultivation,  and  bis  last  sales  of  cattle  at  Chicago  amounted 
to  $65,000. 

These  families  have  enjoyed  almost  uninterrupted  health,  Mr.  Isaac 
Funk  has  had  10  children,  and  Mr.  Jesse  Funk  8.  In  the  family  of 
Isaac,  one  died  of  fever ;  and  in  that  of  Jesse,  one  by  an  accidental  fall 
from  a  wagon. 

Yours,  truly, 

JOHN  S.  BARGER. 


LETTER  FROM  JAMES  PHILLIPS. 

Nashville,  Washington  Co.,  III.,  ) 
December  2  6  ^A,  1855.  J 

J.  B.  Austin,  Esq. : 

Dear  Sir, — For  the  information  of  those  who  design  coming  West,  I 
forward  you  the  following  thoughts  about  our  country — a  portion  of 
this  great  valley  which  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  hitherto  overlooked 
by  emigrants.  Until  quite  recently  we  were,  to  a  great  degree,  cut  off 
from  a  market.  Produce  could  not  be  transported  to  our  great  thorough- 
fares, the  freight,  in  many  instances,  costing  more  than  the  article  would 
bring  when  taken  to  the  nearest  shipping  point.  Now,  however,  the 
case  is  quite  different.  A  market  has  been  created  by  rail-roads  at  our 
own  homes,  for  every  article  the  tiller  of  the  soil  produces.  Formerly 
our  farmers  raised  their  products,  then  fed  the  same  to  their  horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  &c.,  looking  forward  from  one  to  four  years  for  a 
time  when  this  stock  could  be  advantageously  cashed.  Now  his  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  beans,  hay,  &c,,  command  fair  rates  at  the  nearest  depot  so 
soon  as  delivered,  thus  giving  him  a  quick  return,  instead  of  the  long 
one  he  previously  received. 

Our  climate  is  temperate.  We  neither  have  the  protracted  cold  of 
the  lakes  of  the  North,  nor  the  sultry  heat  of  the  South.  This  country 
will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  portion  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
for  health.  AVe  are  exempt  from  the  consumption  of  the  Eastern 
States,  from  the  low  fevers  of  the  Southern  States,  and  comparatively 
free  from  those  miasmatic  diseases  of  the  Western  States  in  their  early 
settlement ;  and  in  proportion  as  our  country  is  tilled,  as  the  primeval 
surface  gives  place  to  cultivation,  will  these  latter  disappear  also.  Ex- 
cellent water  is  obtained  at   an  average  depth,  almost   anywhere,  of 


33 

twenty  feet.  Our  soil  is  of  an  excellent  quality,  suiffice  pleasantly 
undulating,  enough  so  to  avoid  swamps  on  the  one  hand,  and  not  too 
broken  on  the  other.  Timber  is  both  good  and  plentiful.  Some  of 
our  prairies  are  a  little  larger  than  we  could  desire,  but  in  them  hedges 
thrive  for  fencing,  so  well,  indeed,  that  many  of  our  farmers  are  hedg- 
ing who  have  an  abundance  of  timber  near  by  their  farms.  Our  popu- 
lation is  rapidly  increasing  by  the  influx  of  an  intelligent  and  well-to-do 
class  of  people. 

We  have  the  land  here  that  can  now  produce  100  bushels  corn  to 

an  acre,  or  at  least  the  stalks  are  now  standing  from  which  Mr.  G , 

our  sheriff,  gathered  that  amount.  There  is  a  fanner  near  by  me,  who 
ploughed  up  in  the  summer  a  piece  of  land  of  a  medium  quality ;  in 
the  fall,  he  put  it  down  in  wheat,  and  the  following  harvest  (the  last 
summer)  he  took  off  between  thirty  and  forty  bushels  to  the  acre,  and 
this  without  any  particular  or  special  care  about  it.  Oats,  rye,  barley, 
buckwheat,  beans,  peas,  potatoes  and  most  garden  vegetables,  that  grow ' 
in  temperate  climates,  flourish  here  luxuriantly.  A  friend  of  mine,  last 
spring,  a  young  farmer,  planted  a  peck  of  potatoes ;  his  family  consisted 
of  himself,  wife  and  two  chikb-en  ;  they  made  almost  daily  use  of  his 
potatoes  from  the  time  there  were  any  small  ones  to  be  found,  until 
digging  time,  when  he  took  out  nine  bushels  of  potatoes  for  winter  use. 
A  remark  here  :  None  of  these  lauds  were  manured ;  that  is  a  word 
not  to  be  found  in  our  farmer's  lexicon.  Not  that  manuring  would 
not  pay,  but  what  is  the  use  ?  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  turn  down  with 
a  sod  plough  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  acres  a  day,  stick  in  the  com 
with  an  axe,  and  come  out  in  the  fall  for  the  crop.  Or,  if  we  wish  to 
sow  wheat,  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  han'ow  a  couple  of  times,  and  sow 
down  the  wheat.  No  lands,  perhaps,  under  the  sun,  are  capable  of 
being  rendered  more  fertile  and  productive  by  rotation  of  crops  and  all 
the  appliances  of  scientific  husbandry. 

There  is  Mr.  K ,  who  came  here  a  poor  adventurer,  with 

nothing  of  this  world's  goods  ;  he  went  to  farming,  continued  it  assid- 
uously, turning  his  farm  produce  into  stock,  his  stock  into  cash,  and 
his  cash  into  lands.     He  is  now  worth  about  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

A  son  of  the  preceding  commenced  about  ten  years  ago  doing  busi- 
ness for  himself.  He  had  about  one  thousand  dollars  to  start  with, 
and  has  gone  on  increasing  his  wealth  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  year. 
This  was  done  exclusively  by  farming. 

Colonel  P came  here  as  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this 

country,  went  to  tilling  the  land,  followed  it  up  to  the  present  time 
3 


34 

engaging  in  nothing  else ;  he  is  now  worth  about  twenty  thousand, 
having  begun  with  less  than  one  hundred  dollars.  These  are  a  few  ot 
many  that  might  be  given.  One  remark  about  this  country  :  One  fair 
crop  of  any  of  the  usual  grains  grown  here  is  worth,  when  harvested, 
what  the  land  will  cost ;  so  that  an  emigrant  can  easily  calculate  what 
he  can  do  on  an  average.  Thus,  if  he  can  plant  and  till  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  by  putting  in  corn  or  wheat,  he  can  pretty  safely  estimate 
that  when  he  threshes  his  wheat,  or  cribs  his  corn,  that  it  will  be 
worth  the  prime  cost  of  his  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  This  is  not 
all ;  for  when  his  land  is  ploughed  and  fenced  it  is  worth  double  what 
it  was  before  subjugation. 

In  conclusion  I  would  say,  we  are  not  crowded  by  reason  of  the 
density  of  our  population.  We  need  a  large  increase  of  intelligent, 
industrious,  persevering  young  farmers.  As  yet  but  about  one-fourth 
of  our  lands  are  fenced  ;  and  we  have  but  a  tithe  of  the  wealth  and 
population  we  shall  have  when  this  great  valley  shall  become  the  agri- 
cultural centre  of  the  earth,  and  Illinois  its  most  favored  spot. 
Yeurs  respectfully, 

JAMES  PHILLIPS. 


LETTER  FROM  A.  J.  GALLOWAY. 

FARM    IN    THE    VICINITT    OF   THE    COMPANY'S    LANDS. 

EwiNGTON,  Effingham  Co.,  III.,  ) 
Fcbnianj  12,  1855.  [ 

Hon.  John  Wilson, 

Land  Commissioner,  Illinois  Central  Railroad  : 

Dear  Sir, — My  residence  in  Illinois  began  in  April,  1837.  During 
the  first  four  years  I  resided  in  Wabash  County,  after  which  I  removed 
to  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and  in  1842,  purchased  some  lands 
in  La  Salle  County.  From  that  until  the  present  time,  I  have  been 
making,  cultivating  and  extending  my  farm. 

The  subsoil  of  the  prairie  land  throughout  the  State,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, is  a  compact  clay,  through  which  water  settles  but  slowly, 
thus  securing  great  durability  to  the  natural  soil,  as  well  as  effectually 
preventing  the  escape  of  artificial  manures,  by  the  process  of  leeching. 
Upon  very  level  prairie,  this  characteristic  causes  the  land  to  be  too 
wet  for  the  profitabl»  eiUtivation  of  the  several  kinds  of  grain,  without 


35 

tioine  special  preparation ;  this,  however,  may  be  almost  universally 
overcome  by  manuring,  and  deep  and  thorough  ploughing;  deep 
ploughing  alono  will  prove  effectual  in  a  large  majority  of  instances. 

South  of  the  parallel  of  forty-one  degrees  north  latitude,  the  staple 
production  is,  and  must  continue  to  be,  Indian  corn  or  maize,  though 
almost  all  grain  and  vegetables,  grown  in  a  temperate  climate,  may  be 
profitably  cultivated,  and  should  not  be  neglected. 

During  my  residence  upon  my  farm  in  La  Salle  County,  our  average 
crop  of  corn,  say  on  a  field  of  eighty  acres,  did  not  vary  much  from  fifty 
bushels  per  acre.  Winter  wheat  (for  I  think  spring  wheat  a  nuisance), 
upon  a  field  of  thirty  acres,  varied  in  different  years  from  nineteen  to 
twenty-three  bushels  per  acre,  harvested  with  McCormick's  Reaper,  and 
threshed  and  separated  by  machines  built  at  Alton,  Illinois.  Oats  va- 
ried from  forty  to  sixty  bushels  per  acre,  and  in  one  instance,  u][X)n  a 
small  lot  of  four  acres,  I  obtained  almost  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre. 

My  estimate  for  the  cost  of  production  and  preparation  for  market, 
previous  to  1850,  after  allowing  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  the  crop  for 
the  use  of  the  land,  was  forty  cents  per  bushel  for  wheat,  and  about 
fifteen  cents  per  bushel  for  corn  and  oats. 

I  could  usually  obtain  good  farm  hands  (men)  at  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars  per  year,  with  board  and  lodging  furnished. 

The  many  difiiculties  with  which  a  single  hand  upon  a  farm  has  to 
contend,  render  it  hard  to  say  what  one  man,  with  a  pair  of  horses,  can 
cultivate  properly — certainly  not  to  exceed  forty  acres ;  whereas,  two 
men,  with  four  horses,  could  readily  manage  a  hundred  acres,  and 
three  men,  with  about  five  horses,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  amount  of  land  devoted  to  meadow  and  grasses. 

In  reply  to  your  ninth  interrogatory,  I  would  say  that  south  of  the 
parallel  I  have  mentioned,  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  farm  devoted 
to  grain  and  vegetables,  should  be  planted  in  corn,  and  three-fourths  of 
the  remainder  in  wheat  and  oats,  in  about  equal  quantities.  The  cul- 
tivation of  barley,  rye,  potatoes,  <fcc.,  should  be  governed  by  the  char- 
acter of  the  farm,  its  position  in  relation  to  markets,  and  somewhat  by 
the  tastes,  education  and  habits  of  the  farmer. 

In  La  Salle  County,  where  woodland  is  not  so  plenty  as  it  is  in  this 
region,  a  good  common  rail  fence  would  cost  about  seventy-five  cents 
per  rod,  but  I  have  contracted  for  a  number  of  miles  of  such  fence, 
eight  rails  high,  staked  and  riddered,  with  a  sound  block  under  each 
corner,  to  be  built  in  this  and  some  other  counties  for  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  cents  per  rod. 


36c 

I  have  tried  different  methods  of  turning  up  or  breaking  prairie  sod, 
and  am  fully  satisfied  that  where  the  prairie  is  clear,  that  is,  destitute  of 
hazel-bushes  or  other  woody  growth,  a  man  who  understands  the  busi- 
ness, with  a  good  pair  of  horses  and  a  plough  properly  constructed, 
such  as  was  manufactured  a  few  years  since  in  Indian  Town,  Bureau 
County,  can  do  the  work  better  and  cheaper  than  in  any  other  way 
that  has  ever  come  under  my  observation.  One  acre  and  a  half  per 
day  is  the  fair  average  for  such  a  team.  Prairie  should  always  be 
broken  between  the  10th  of  May  and  the  20th  of  June,  in  the  latitude 
of  La  Salle  County.  In  this  county  the  work  should  be  completed  as 
early  as  the  10th  of  June. 

For  persons  wishing  to  make  a  settlement  in  Illinois,  I  should  advise 
about  the  same  course  for  almost  any  part  of  the  State  with  which  I 
am  acquainted.  The  first  thing  such  person  should  do  is  to  make  a 
pei-sonal  examination  of  the  country,  and  select  a  location.  Then,  if 
he  should  have  the  means  to  spare,  and  could  purchase  forty  or  eighty 
acres  of  good  prairie  land,  not  more  than  five  miles  from  where  mate- 
rials for  building,  fencing  and  fuel  can  be  obtained,  at  reasonable  rates, 
and  get  a  long  credit  upon  three-fourths  of  the  purchase  money,  I 
should  advise  him  to  secure  it  at  once. 

He  should  then  procure  a  good  pair  of  horses  and  wagon,  a  cow,  a 
few  pigs,  and  some  poultry,  and  two  good  ploughs,  one  for  breaking 
prairie  and  the  other  for  cultivating  land  already  subdued.  Thus  pro- 
vided, it  would  be  well  if  he  could  rent  a  small  tenement  with  a  few 
acres  of  improved  land  near  his  own,  for  a  year  or  two,  until  he  could 
get  his  farm  under  way.  But  if  no  such  tenement  could  be  obtained, 
ho  should  at  once  build  a  cheap  house  upon  his  own  land,  and  push 
forward  his  improvements. 

Prairie  sod  broken  in  the  manner  and  at  the  time  heretofore  stated, 
will  be  sufiiciently  rotten  to  cross  plough  as  early  as  the  tenth  of  Au- 
gust. This  cross  ploughing  should  not  be  neglected,  and  in  the  north' 
of  the  State  wheat  should  be  sown  broad-cast,  and  harrowed  both  ways, 
or  drilled  in  by  a  proper  machine,  about  the  first  of  September.  Wheat 
sown  upon  such  land  in  this  manner,  rarely  fails  to  produce  an  excellent 
crop.  The  next  two  years  after  the  wheat  is  taken  off  the  ground,  two 
good  crops  of  corn  may  be  produced,  with  comparatively  little  labor. 
Oats  is  perhaps  the  proper  grain  for  the  fourth  crop  ;  and  by  that  time, 
if  the  new  settler  be  a  man  of  reasonably  perceptive  powers,  he  will  have 
made  himself  sufiiciently  well  acquainted  with  the  soil,  climate,  rotation 
of  crops,  etc.,  to  manage  his  farm  to  good  advantage.     Much  may  be 


37 

learned  from  the  many  agricultur.al  periodicals  with  which  our  country 
abounds,  and  no  farmer  should  be  without  one  or  more  of  these  valuable 
aids.  But,  to  succeed  well,  ho  must  thoroughly  investigate  the  local 
peculiarities  of  his  own  neighborhood,  and  especially  those  of  his  own 
farm. 

There  is  a  general  and  growing  disposition  throughout  the  State  to 
educate ;  and  in  a  very  few  yeare  all  the  educational  facilities  which  exist 
in  the  Eastern  States  will  be  at  the  command  of  the  citizens  of  Illinois. 

There  is  little  disease  at  any  time  in  the  State,  which  may  not  be 
traced,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  derangement  in  the  biliary  organs,  and 
much  of  this  should,  no  doubt,  be  attributed  to  the  free  use  of  heavy 
bread,  strong  coffee,  and  a  large  amount  of  animal  food,  to  the  partial 
or  total  exclusion  of  vegetable  diet.  I  think  I  am  free  from  prejudice 
when  I  say  that,  except  in  the  valleys  of  the  larger  streams,  but  more 
especially  upon  the  high  rolling  prairies  of  Middle  and  Northern  Illinois, 
a  more  healthy  country  is  not  to  be  found,  even  in  the  mountainous 
districts  of  the  older  States. 

In  these  hasty  lines  I  have  endeavored  to  answer  some  of  your  inter- 
rogatories as  categorically  as  their  nature  would  permit,  without  at- 
tempting to  sustain  my  opinions  by  argument.  If  they  should  prove 
of  the  least  service  to  you  or  others,  I  shall  be  more  than  compensated 
for  the  very  Httle  time  and  attention  which  I  have  felt  at  liberty  to  be- 
stow upon  them. 

Respectfully, 

Your  ob't  serv't, 

A.  J.  GALLOWAY. 


LETTER  FROM  C.  G.  TAYLOR. 

Pleasant  Ridgb,  Rock  Island  Co.,  III. 
February  8ik,  1855. 
HoK.  John  Wilson  : 

Dear  Sir, — I  was  raised  in  Jefferson  County,  N.  Y.,  in  and  among 
the  log  cabins,  stumps,  rocks,  and  snow  banks.  My  father  was  a  farmer. 
I  know  full  well  what  it  costs  to  farm  in  Northern  New  York,  from  the 
felling  of  the  first  tree  to  the  farm  under  good  cultivation.  I  moved  to 
this  State  in  the  spring  of  1844,  and  have  been  engaged  in  farming  most 
of  the  time  since.  The  soil  of  Illinois  is  a  dark,  rich  mould,  varying 
firom  two  to  six  feet  in  depth,  with  clay  bottom.    There  is  but  little  sandy 


38 

soil  in  this  part  of  the  State.  About  one-tenth  is  covered  with  timher, 
and  that  is  usually  on  the  borders  of  our  rivei-s  and  small  streams. 
Timber  land  is  held  at  from  $10  to  $50  per  acre,  according  to  location 
and  quality. 

Our  water  is  usually  hard.  There  are  not  many  springs,  owing  to 
the  lowness  of  the  land  ;  but  water  is  easily  obtained  by  digging,  and 
usually  found  in  abundance  at  the  depth  of  from  ten  to  twenty -five  feet. 
There  is,  in  general,  a  great  supply  of  water  for  cattle,  in  our  ravines 
and  sloughs. 

Stone  and  brick  for  cellars  are  scar^r^e  on  our  prairies,  but  cement, 
plastered  on  a  mud  wall,  answers  very  well,  and  makes  a  neat  and  dry 
cellar.  Fencing  materials  are  also  scarce.  Pine  lumber  and  oak  posts 
are  now  mostly  used  by  the  new  settlers.  This  kind  of  fence  can  be  put  up 
at  about  80  to  90  cents  per  rod ;  depending,  however,  somewhat  on  the 
distance  it  has  to  be  hauled.  Materials  for  building  are  procured  in 
rafts  on  our  rivers,  or  at  Chicago,  and  taken  by  team  or  railroad  to  any 
part  of  the  State. 

The  breaking  of  prairie  is  mostly  done  in  May  and  June,  and  gener- 
ally with  ox-teams  of  four  or  six  yoke — the  plough  cutting  a  furrow 
from  sixteen  to  twenty-two  inches  wide,  and  about  three  inches  deep. 
Of  late,  however,  so  many  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  form 
and  draught  of  ploughs,  that  much  of  our  vast  prairie  lands  can  easily  be 
broken  with  one  pair  of  horses,  which  can  plough  from  one  and  a  quar- 
ter to  one  and  a  half  acres  per  day,  which  is  preferable  to  that  done 
with  a  large  plough.  This,  every  farmer  can  do  with  his  own  team, 
and  cheaper  than  to  hire  and  pay  |2  50  per  acre.  I  broke  fifteen  acres 
last  summer,  at  the  rate  of  one  and  a  half  acres  per  day,  with  a  pair  of 
mares,  each  having  colts,  and  did  it  to  perfection.  The  ploughs  are 
made  at  Moline,  in  this  county,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  per 
week,  by  J.  Drew.  They  are  made  of  the  best  German  steel,  for  Si 6. 
A  rolling  coulter  is  better.  These  ploughs  are  scattered,  by  railroads, 
all  over  the  State. 

Sod  corn,  if  planted  in  the  month  of  May,  and  the  weather  is  not  too 
warm,  will  yield,  per  acre,  from  twenty  to  forty  bushels.  The  planting 
is  done  by  sticking  an  axe  or  a  spade  between  the  layers  of  sod,  and, 
after  dropping  the  corn,  apply  the  heel  of  the  boot  freely.  It  needs  no 
ciilture.  If  a  very  light  crop  of  corn  is  raised,  the  stalks  may  be  re- 
moved and  the  ground  sown  with  winter  wheat.  If  a  heavy  crop  of 
cdrn  is  raised,  it  will  take  too  much  work  to  clear  the  ground  of  the 
stalks,  and  the  stumps  and  roots  will  be  a  great  hindrance  to  tlie  harroTiv, 


39 

as  the  cora  roots  are  strongly  set  in  the  sod.  As  sod  com  cannot  be 
relied  on  with  safety,  it  is,  perhaps,  better  to  let  the  sod  lie  until  Septem- 
ber, and  then  sow  with  wheat,  and  harrow  thoroughly.  This  is  almost 
invariably  a  sure  crop,  more  so  than  any  of  the  after  ones,  as  the  sod 
holds  the  roots  during  our  usually  dry  and  snowless  winter.  Or,  the 
sod  may  lie  till  spring,  and  then  bo  sown  with  spring  wheat,  and  har- 
rowed only.  Let  it  be  cross-ploughed,  and  wa  have  what  no  field  can 
be  in  the  Eastern  States,  with  all  the  manure  combined.  The  soil  being 
a  black  mould,  aud  very  mellow,  any  thing  will  grow  in  it  that  grows 
in  this  latitude.  Spring  wheat  aud  oats  are  liable  to  grow  too  rank. 
They  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  that  the 
straw  may  have  a  stunted  growth.  If  sown  late,  say  after  the  first  of 
April  too  much  straw  is  grown,  which  is  liable  to  cause  the  wheat  to 
blast,  smut,  &c.  AVe  have  no  summer  fallows  in  this  section,  baring 
seen  none  in  Illinois.  "We  raise  but  Uttle  winter  wheat  after  the  first 
crop,  on  the  first  breaking,  until  we  break  up  a  tame  meadow  or  pas- 
ture ;  then  again  we  have  a  fine  crop.  Our  usual  mode  of  raising  spring 
wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  is  to  sow  on  the  fall  ploughing,  or  on  com 
ground  without  ploughing,  only  harrowing.  I  raised  over  twenty-five 
bushels  per  acre  of  the  best  of  wheat  last  year,  on  corn  ground,  without 
ploughing,  and  sixty  bushels  of  oats.  One  team  can  do  the  work  on  a 
farm  of  fifty  or  sixty  acres,  if  all  the  breaking  is  done.  All  stubble  land 
should  be  ploughed  in  the  fall,  aud  be  ready  for  the  small  grain  in  the 
spring.  One  man  and  two  horses  can  easily  teud  thirty  to  forty  acres 
of  corn,  one  ploughing  for  which  is  sufficient ;  then  mark  oft'  both  ways, 
rows  about  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  plant  the  seed  with  a  machine 
or  a  hoe.  A  man  can  cover  four  acres  per  day  ;  a  small  boy  can  drop 
the  seed.  Harrow  with  a  three-cornered  harrow,  by  knocking  out  the 
forward  teeth,  as  soon  as  the  corn  is  out  of  the  ground,  then  use  the 
cultivator  or  one-horse  plough,  and  work  it  both  ways ;  twice  working 
after  harrowing  is  sufficient ;  no  hoeing  required.  A  fair  yield  of  winter 
wheat  is  about  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre  ;  spring  wheat,  twenty  to 
thirty  ;  oats,  forty  to  seventy-five ;  barley,  twenty  to  forty  ;  winter  rye, 
twenty  to  thirty ;  corn,  forty  to  eighty ;  potatoes,  one  hundred  to  three 
hundred. 

We  commence  to  harvest  our  corn  about  the  lOtli  of  October.  There 
is  more  harvested  in  December  than  in  any  other  month.  Corn  can  be 
raised  and  cribbed  at  121-  cents  per  bushel.  Our  small  grain  is  all  cut 
by  machinery.  A  machine  followed  by  six  binders,  cuts  and  shocks  from 
ten  to  fifteen  acres  per  day.     Price  of  cutting,  50  to  62^  ceuts  per  acre. 


To  binders,  we  pay  from  $1  to  $1  25  per  day.  As  it  is  impossible  to 
house  all  the  grain,  it  is  stacked.  Threshing  is  also  done  by  machinery. 
This,  with  cleaning,  will  cost  5  cents  per  bushel  for  wheat ;  oats,  2\ 
cents.  The  straw  is  usually  stacked,  to  which  the  cattle  have  free  access 
during  the  winter. 

Our  market  is  at  Chicago  or  St.  Louis.  No  part  of  our  State  is  far 
from  railroad  or  steamboat  shipping,  having  about  1,800  miles  of  the 
former  now  in  good  running  order,  and  about  1,000  miles  of  river 
navigation. 

Our  charges  correspond  with  the  Eastern  market,  with  the  freight 
charge  deducted. 

Our  soil  is  well  calculated  for  the  production  of  the  tame  grasses. 
Our  meadows  yield  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  tons  per  acre.  Ground 
that  has  been  mown  for  ten  or  fifteen  years,  produces  better  crops  than 
the  new  land,  because  the  top  soil,  which  is  principally  composed  of  de- 
cayed grass  and  the  ashes  deposited  by  annual  burnings,  is  very  loose 
and  open.  After  deep  ploughing,  and  comparatively  using  up  this  top 
soil,  we  obtain  a  more  compact  and  fine  soil,  which  will  hold  the 
roots  of  the  grass  firm  and  secure.  Clover  grows  luxuriantly,  but  the 
trouble  is,  there  is  not  a  sufiicient  quantity  sown  to  supply  the  great 
demand. 

There  has,  until  lately,  but  little  attention  been  paid  to  the  raising  of 
stock.  At  this  present  time  we  can  boast  of  being  equal  to  the  other 
States,  in  some  choice  selections  of  the  best  stock  in  the  Union.  Only 
a  small  portion  of  prairie  is  yet  broken.  The  cattle  roam  as  upon  a 
"  thousand  hills"  during  the  summer ;  but  in  the  winter  are  fed  upon 
straw,  standing  corn-stalks,  and  prairie  hay.  Very  little  corn-fodder  is 
«ut  and  cured,  being  too  heaAy  to  handle.  Probably  nine-tenths  of  our 
hay,  as  yet,  is  cut  upon  the  prairie,  which  makes,  if  well  cured,  excel- 
lent feed.  Any  quantity  of  this  hay  can  be  cut  in  any  section,  yielding 
from  one  to  three  tons  per  acre.  I  have  fed,  for  several  winters,  be- 
tween sixty  and  ninety  head  of  cattle  upon  prairie  hay,  and  have  not 
bst  a  single  one  by  disease.  Our  hay  is  cut  by  mowing  machines,  at 
50  to  C2i  cents  per  acre.  It  costs,  counting  work,  board  of  hands,  &c., 
about  one  to  two  dollars  per  ton  in  the  stack.  The  feed  for  a  cow, 
aside  from  grain,  will  not  exceed  |3  per  year.  Our  pasture  is  free.  Our 
prairie  grass  is  fully  equal  to  tamo  grass  for  butter,  cheese,  &c.,  up  to 
the  time  of  frost,  which  is  usually  about  the  10th  of  October.  The  pro- 
duct from  my  dairy  of  about  thirty-five  cows,  for  the  last  six  years,  has 
been  on  an  average  about  $20  per  cow,  besides  the  slop  for  hogs,  and 


41 

the  feed  for  nearly  as  many  calves.  Last  year  the  price  of  butter  in 
this  part  of  the  State  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  pound  ;  cheese 
nine  to  twelve  and  a  half  cents.  I  think  these  figures  will  be  near  the 
standard  for  years  to  come. 

In  regard  to  fruit,  I  would  just  mention  that  Whiteside  County,  Illi- 
nois, took  the  first  prize  at  New  York  last  fall.  Apple  trees  to  any 
amount  and  of  all  varieties,  can  be  had  in  our  nurseries  from  12^  to  15 
cents  apiece.  No  dew  or  old  settler  should  fail  to  raise  the  Osage 
Orange  or  Madura  hedge.  With  proper  care,  in  four  years  he  will  have 
a  living  fence,  the  entire  cost  of  which  will  not  have  exceeded  25  cents 
per  rod.  How  beautiful  will  our  State  appear,  in  a  few  more  years,  with 
our  farms  surrounded  by  this  evergreen  shrub.  There  is  no  State  in 
the  Union  that  can  support  so  large  a  population  as  Illinois.  Now  not 
more  than  one-twelfth  part  of  the  surface  is  under  cultivation.  There  is 
scarcely  an  acre  that  can  be  called  ivaste  ground.  We  have  no  moun- 
taina  nor  rocks ;  no  stumps  to  grub  out ;  no  stones  to  pick  oflF,  and 
seldom  a  snow-bank  to  wallow  through.  I  believe  if  this  State  was 
cultivated  as  New  York  or  Massachusetts,  it  would  feed  the  Union.  The 
population  is  about  1,000,000,  A  grant  of  one  thirty-sixth  part  of  land 
is  set  apart  by  Congress  for  public  schools.  Our  State  debt  will  all  be 
paid  in  a  few  years  by  the  internal  resources,  without  the  increase  of 
taxation.  This  debt  "has  been  a  bug-bear  to  some  of  our  Eastern  friends, 
declining  to  locate  with  us,  for  fear  of  being  obliged  to  help  pay  it. 
This  objection  is  now  removed.  Why  the  Eastern  emigrants  seek  a 
home  in  Nebraska,  Minnesota,  or  even  in  Iowa,  is  strange  to  my  mind. 
Illinois  has  all  the  advantages  that  any  reasonable  man  could  desire. 
Our  railroads  are  now  so  connected  that  we  have  access  to  any  part  of 
the  Union,  and  the  Eastern  market  is  brought  to  our  very  doors. 

For  the  information  of  some  who  are  desirous  to  know  more  definite 
particulars,  I  will  here  add  the  course  pursued  by  my  first  neighbor, 
William  Waite,  in  starting  his  prairie  farm.  In  the  spring  of  1853  he 
bought  eighty  acres  of  prairie,  for  $4  50  per  acre,  making 

Whole  value  of  the  entire  farm  to  be  only  .  .  $360 
Broke  60  acres,  at  $2  50  per  acre,  .  .  .150 
Fenced  60  acres,  at  $1  per  rod,  400  rods  of  board 

fence, 400 

Sowed  40  acres  with  winter  wheat,  ll  bushels  to 

the  acre,  at  $1  per  bushel     ....  60 

Sowing  and  harrowing,  15  cents  per  acre.    .         .  30 


Hai'vesting  and  marketing,  $1  50  per  acre   .         .  $60 
Threshing  and  cleaning  1,100  bushels,  at  10  cents 

per  bushel, 110 

Hauling  15  miles  to  railroad,  6  cents  per  bushel,       66 — $1,236 

Planted  twenty  acres  "with  corn : 
Ploughing  20  acres  in  the  spring,  at  75  cents, 
Marking  off  and  planting,  .... 
Cultivating,  at  $1  25  per  acre,    . 
Harvesting,  at  $1  per  acre, 

Thi'eshing  and  hauhng  15  miles  to  railroad,  1,000 
bushels,  at  10  cents  per  bushel,   . 


Total  cost  of  farm  and  crops, 

1,100  bushels  of  wheat,  at  $1  15  per  bushel, 
1,000  bushels  of  corn,  at  28  cents  per  bushel, 
Total  amount  of  crops, 

Profits  of  60  acres,  after  paying  all  expenses,  &C.,  .        $134 

and  20  acres  of  land  unbroken.     This  farm  is  now  worth  $25  per  acre. 
Respectfully  yours, 

C.  G.  TAYLOR. 


.  $15 

.   15 

.   25 

20 

.  100 

$1V5 

•    • 

$1,411 

$1,265 

.  280 

• 

$1,545 

JITTER  FROM  W.  H.  MUNN,  ESQ.,  MARSHALL  CO.,  H^L. 
Hon.  Johx  Wilson  : 

Dear  Sir, — Yours  of  the  2d  instant,  containing  many  important 
questions  relative  to  what  an  industrious  farmer  can  do  on  the  prairies 
of  Illinois,  has  been  received,  and  though  I  am  very  busy  at  this  time 
grafting,  I  will  not  delay  giving  you  a  brief  reply. 

You  ask  me  to  state  my  own  case,  but  I  wish  to  be  excused,  for  I 
have  devoted  the  most  of  my  time  and  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
Madura  hedge  plant,  ever  since  I  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State. 

An  industrious  man,  who  has  but  a  small  capital  (§200  to  $400)  to 
commence  with,  can  soon  have  a  farm,  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  provided  he  has  health,  and  .is  a  good 
economist. 


43 

Iq  the  first  place  he  must  put  up  a  shanty  of  some  kind  to  live  in ; 
then  some  kind  of  a  cheap  fence  that  will  turn  cattle  and  horses,  (these 
being  the  only  stock  permitted  to  run  at  large,)  for  four  or  five  years, 
and  by  that  time  he  can  have  a  good  living  fence  that  will  turn  all  kinds 
of  stock,  and  be  as  durable  almost  as  the  land  upon  which  it  stands. 

About  the  1st  of  May  is  the  time  to  commence  breaking  prairio.  A 
good  pair  of  horses  will  tiu'n  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  acres  per  day. 

What  is  not  planted  in  corn  should  be  sown  in  fall  wheat>  and  will 
generally  turn  off  about  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  New  land  is  the  best 
for  wheat,  and  the  third  crop  is  considered  the  best  for  corn. 

Prairie  breaking  is  worth  from  $2  to  $2  25  per  acre.  Good  hands 
demand  here,  for  the  last  two  years,  from  $175  to  $200  per  annum. 

After  the  first  year's  crop,  we  get  from  ten  to  twenty  bushels  of  wheat 
per  acre,  and  from  thirty  to  fifty  of  corn.  An  industrious  man  can 
manage  eighty  acres,  by  having  a  little  help  in  seed  time  and  harvest. 
The  prairie  grass  makes  excellent  hay  for  cattle  and  horses.  It  is  some- 
what diflScult  to  sell  the  crop  in  the  field,  a3  every  man  has  as  much  of 
his  own  raising  to  harvest  as  he  can  get  done  in  good  time. 

I  have  travelled  considerably,  but  I  know  of  no  other  State  that  affords 
to  the  farmer  so  many  conveniences  as  this  one.  It  costs  but  little  to 
make  a  farm,  and  when  it  is  made  it  is  a  good  one — one  that,  with 
proper  management,  will  always  yield  a  good  crop,  which,  delivered  at 
some  railroad  station,  will  always  bring  a  good  price.  Improvements 
pay  well,  should  you  wish  to  sell  the  farm. 

The  above  was  written  in  great  haste,  and  the  half  is  not  told.  You 
may  use  it  if  you  think  it  will  be  of  any  service  to  you  or  any  one. 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 

W.  H.  MUNN. 


ILLINOIS  THROUGH  MASSACHUSETTS  SPECTACLES. 

Permit  me,  as  a  Massachusetts  farmer,  under  the  above  heading,  to 
give  a  faint  glimpse  of  some  matters  and  things  in  the  Prairie  State — as 
seen  through  my  glasses. 

Every  farmer  knows  well  the  benefit  of  crossing  his  stock,  and  it  may 
be  that  ideas  improve  under  a  similar  law ;  at  the  worst,  I  shall  be  safe, 
as  there  is  no  possible  danger  for  me  to  lose  by  the  cross,  but  have 
every  chance  to  gain. 

It  will  not  do  for  the  New-Eno-land  man  to  come  here  and  carry  out 


all  of  his  notions  of  economy ;  his  ideas  will  be  altogether  too  con- 
tracted ;  he  only  knows  of  farming  upon  a  limited  scale,  and  "  under 
difficulties."  In  this  State,  nature  has  done  much  for  the  husbandman, 
and  his  system  of  agriculture  must  be  as  broad  and  comprehensive  as 
the  prairies  themselves.  In  New-England,  there  is  more  calculation, 
more  order,  more  method,  more  finish ;  the  soil  being  so  sterile  the 
people  have  been  necessitated  to  learn  these  sterling  qualities.  In  this 
State,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  they  seem  but  little  practiced  ;  but  there  is  no 
spot  on  the  globe  where  it  would  pay  better.  It  is  true  the  land  fever 
has  raged  extensively  among  your  farmers,  and  they  have  invested  every 
spare  dollar  in  increasing  the  number  of  their  acres,  instead  of  building 
houses  and  barns,  and  purchasing  farming  utensils,  and  giving  their 
homes  an  air  of  comfort ;  and  it  has  proved  to  be  a  good  investment ; 
but  there  are  very  many  who  have  secured  the  number  of  acres  to 
satisfy  them,  who  have  all  kinds  of  stock  in  abundance,  and  money  be- 
sides, who  do  not  live  and  enjoy  the  comforts  of  home  and  social  life  in 
so  high  a  degree  as  the  mechanic  in  New-England,  who  supports  him- 
self and  his  family  upon  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  day.  This  class  of 
farmers  have,  no  doubt,  generally  commenced  poor,  and  struggled  with 
all  the  disadvantages  of  a  border  life,  until  the  introduction  of  railroads 
into  the  State,  when  they  availed  themselves  of  the  benefits,  and  found 
fortunes  in  the  sudden  rise  in  the  value  of  their  estates,  but  have  no 
desire,  further,  to  improve  their  condition. 

So  far  as  health  is  concerned,  time  will  prove  that  the  prairies  of  the 
"West  will  compare  well  with  any  of  the  Eastern  States.  Eastern  people 
have  made  a  big  bug-bear  out  of  the  miasma  of  the  praii-ies ;  but  if 
they  will  turn  their  attention  to  the  thousands  of  alder  swamps  between 
their  hills,  where  the  sun  and  wind  are  almost  strangers,  they  will  dis- 
cover more  causes  of  ill-health  concentrated  there  in  a  few  acres,  than 
is  scattered  over  a  whole  prairie,  where  the  purifying  influences  of  the 
sun  and  wind  have  full  scope.  This  season  has  been  an  unusually  un- 
healthy one  for  this  State  ;  but  during  the  most  sickly  time,  I  was  wan- 
dering over  the  prairies,  and  I  saw  but  few  instances  where  the  ill-health 
could  uot  be  directly  traced  to  infringements  of  physical  laws,  either 
through  ignorance  or  necessity.  In  some  cases  of  chills  and  fever  that 
have  come  under  my  observation,  a  few  outward  applications  of  soap 
and  water  no  doubt  would  have  relieved  the  patient.  Then,  again,  if 
the  pioneers  would  eat  less  pork,  and  more  fruit  and  vegetables,  it  would 
be  much  better  for  them ;  and  I  only  wonder,  all  things  considered,  that 
there  is  so  muck  health  here,  the  people  are  such  big  sinners  in  a  physi 


45 

cal  point  of  view.  Pure  water  is  an  important  item  in  tbe  bill  of 
liealth,  though  it  is  but  little  attended  to.  People  all  over  the  prairies 
drink  surface  water,  when  with  digging  or  boring,  pure  water  can  be 
had,  or  what  might  be  still  better  for  family  use,  cisterns  can  be  sunk 
in  the  earth  at  a  trifling  expense,  to  save  all  of  the  rain  water  from 
buildings.  When  the  new  settlers  get  the  conveniences  of  life  around 
them,  the  prairies  will  be  regarded  as  more  healthy  than  the  Eastern 
States.  The  fevers  of  the  "West  will  never  be  a  match  for  the  con- 
sumption of  the  East. 

Now  to  farming.  At  the  East,  large  stories  are  in  circulation  about 
the  productiveness  of  Illinois,  p.ud  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  have  seen 
with  my  own  eyes  crops  of  various  kinds  upon  the  soil  which,  if  I  should 
report  them  at  the  East,  I  should  not  be  believed,  though  I  have  a  decent 
reputation  for  truth  there.  For  this  fruitfulness,  nature  should  receive 
all  the  thanks,  the  farmer  none.  Though  blessed  with  the  most  pro- 
ductive soil,  it  is  improved  but  poorly.  At  most,  not  one  cultivator  in 
ten  can  lay  any  claim  to  the  name  of  farmer ;  though  it  is  true  that 
circumstances  have  been  very  much  against  the  development  of  the 
agricultural  interest  of  this  State,  until  the  opening  of  the  rail-roads. 
Now,  farming  has  received  such  an  impetus  that  it  will  soon  come  up 
to  the  standard  it  is  destined  to  reach ;  but  so  fertile  is  the  soil,  the 
extent  of  its  capacity  to  produce  is  unlimited.  Corn  and  wheat  are 
the  crops  farmers  mostly  rely  upon ;  but  barley,  rye,  beans,  potatoes, 
onions,  flax,  and  fruits  of  all  kinds  adapted  to  the  State,  in  addition, 
will  pay  equally  as  well,  and  for  a  number  of  years,  even  better.  In 
fact,  the  farmer  cannot  turn  his  attention  to  stock  raising  or  the  culti- 
vation of  any  crop,  if  he  is  a  practical  man  and  has  any  energy,  without 
realizing  a  fortune,  and,  too,  at  prices  far  below  the  present.  As  an  act 
of  humanity  and  for  the  saving  of  thousands  of  tons  of  beef  and  pork, 
ho  should  provide  temporary  sheds,  if  nothing  more,  for  the  protection 
of  his  flocks  and  herds.  The  cold  winds  on  the  prairies  are  as  hard 
for  cattle  to  bear,  and  they  need  as  much  shelter  in  the  winter  as  in 
Massachusetts ;  and  persons  there,  not  providing  shelter  for  their  cat- 
tle, would  be  indicted  for  cruelty  to  dumb  beasts.  If  beasts  are  ex- 
posed, the  natural  heat  of  the  animal  must  be  kept  up  with  extra  feed, 
or  at  the  expense  of  the  animal ;  and  the  consequent  result  is,  that  in 
the  spring,  most  of  the  cattle  here  are  poor,  and  then  it  takes  half  the 
following  summer  to  get  them  up  again. 

After  spending  a  few  months  in  travelling  over  this  State,  and  seeing 
for  myself,  I  have  made  an  estimate  of  the  production,  or  rather  the 


amount  of  produce  a  good  farmer  can  sell  fi'om  a  section  of  land,  after 
provisioning  his  family  and  assistants,  and  feeding  the  necessary  teams 
to  be  employed  upon  a  grain  farm,  taking  the  prairie  in  the  wild  state, 
and  for  the  first  years,  commencing  moderately,  by  ploughing  one-third 
the  first,  two-thirds  the  second,  and  the  whole  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth 
years ;  and  I  think  that  fifty  thousand  dollars  can  be  realized,  as  the 
total  receipts  for  the  five  years'  term.  This  estimate  is  for  a  grain  farm, 
which  should  be  located  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  depot.  During  these 
five  years  fruit  trees  and  other  improvements  should  be  going  on,  to 
keep  up  with  the  age.  The  double  plough  should  be  used  in  breaking 
the  sod,  so  that  as  good  a  crop  can  be  had  the  first  as  succeeding  years. 
From  what  I  know  of  farming  in  New  England,  I  should  much  rather 
prefer  laud  in  this  State,  if  I  could  get  it  upon  a  long  credit,  so  as  to 
put  my  capital  into  improvements,  than  to  accept  of  one-half  of  the 
farms  there  with  a  free  title  to  commence  with.  Practice  the  same 
energy  and  industry  as  would  be  necessary  there,  and  a  young  man 
can  earn  his  farm  here,  and  be  wealthier  in  ten  years,  than  he  could 
to  have  a  farm  presented  him  in  New  England  to  start  with.  One 
word  about  woodland  and  my  long  yarn  shall  break.  Eastern  men, 
on  first  coming  into  this  State,  sigh  for  more  woodland,  but  they  soon 
learn  that  there  is  coal  enough  below  its  surface  to  warm  up  the  hearts 
and  bodies  of  all  of  Uncle  Sam's  -family,  besides  generating  steam 
enough  to  drive  all  the  engines  in  creation  to  all  eternity. 

Then,  again,  in  twenty  years  from  this  time,  there  will  be  twenty  times 
as  much  forest  as  at  present ;  for  as  soon  as  the  prairie  fires  are  stopped, 
timber  starts  up ;  and  trees  every  intelligent  tiirmer  is  now  planting,  just 
where  he  wants  them,  to  beautify  and  adorn  his  lands.  Fencing  ma- 
terial will  be  mostly  supplied  by  hedging,  Avhich  will  also  tend  to  make 
this  State  what  nature  has  designed  it  to  be — the  Eden  of  America, 

Pera  Station,  Dec.  29th,  1855. 

On  Chicago  Branch  of  Illinois  C.  JR.  R. 

L.  G.  CHASE. 


LETTER  FROM  DANIEL  ARTER. 

Villa  Ridge,  III.,  Jan.  25,  1856. 


Hon.  John  Wilson, 

Land  Commissioner . 


Dear  Sir, — Understanding  that  you  are  desirous  of  obtaining  infor- 
mation concerning  the  agricultural  capabilities,  general  features,  etc., 


47 

of  the  southern,  as  tvcII  as  other  portions  of  Illinois,  I  cheerfully  offer 
the  following  facts. 

For  upwards  of  twenty  years,  I  have  been  a  permanent  resident  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  State,  located  opposite  Section  12  of  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad,  (12  miles  from  Cairo,)  and  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  from  said  road,  in  a  westerly  direction.  During  that  period  my 
attention  has  been  mainly  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  the  practice  of 
medicine — the  pursuit  of  which  calling  will  enable  me  to  bear  valuable 
testimony,  perhaps,  in  behalf  of,  at  least,  the  locality  wherein  I  operated. 

The  land  I  have  cultivated  has  proved  itself  well  adapted  to  the  rais- 
ing of  quite  every  kind  of  grain,  fruits,  vegetables,  &c.,  which  an 
agreeable  medium  of  climate  allows. 

The  average  yield  of  my  farm,  which  is  mainly  hill  land,  not  abruptly 
broken,  however,  and  which  (I  can  safely  add)  is  the  general  character 
of  the  county  (Pulaski)  wherein  I  reside,  has  been  about  as  follows : 
Corn,  40  to  45  bushels  per  acre. 
Wheat,  20  "  " 

Potatoes,  250        "  " 

whilst  oats,  barley,  rye,  buckwheat,  &c.,  grow  iu  just  proportion. 

Of  fruits,  I  have  ever  had  an  abundant  yield ;  peaches,  plums,  quinces, 
cherries  and  pears  being  cultivated  with  remarkable  success,  so  far  as 
exjieriments  have  been  made,  whilst  the  culture  of  apples  has  never 
failed  to  reward  abundantly  all  labor  and  expense  bestowed. 

Vegetables,  of  almost  every  character,  quite  every  description  of 
grape  and  berry,  grow  astonishingly  ;  although  little  attention  is  now 
being  paid  to  their  cultivation.  Much  of  the  land  is  peculiarly  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape ;  and  nowhere  do  I  know  of  a  locality 
more  fitly  situated  for  an  extensive  gardening  interest  than  that  in  ques- 
tion. Its  situation  is  but  a  few  miles  from  Cairo — a  market  rarely,  if 
ever,  overstocked  with  vegetables,  owing  to  the  great  river  demand — 
and  sufficiently  distant  south  from  Chicago  to  enable  the  producer  to 
ripen  certain  garden  products  a  few  weeks  after  the  seeds  of  similar 
products  begin  to  germinate  so  far  north. 

The  climate  is  happily  exempt  from  all  remarkable  extremes.  The 
country  is  abundantly  supplied  with  never-fiiiling  springs  of  pure,  cold 
water ;  is  well  timbered ;  generally  provided  with  every  necessary  the 
wants  of  the  settler  demand,  and  bears  a  reputation  for  health  among 
those  familiar  with  the  locality,  which  alone  should  render  it  a  desirable 
place  of  residence,  were  every  other  featui-e  less  encouraging  than  here 
truthfully  represented.  I  am,  sir,  your  obt.  servt., 

DANIEL  AETEE. 


48 

LETTER  FROM  H.  H.  HENDRICK. 

Batavia,  Kane  Co.,  III.,  Feb.  21,  1855. 

Hon.  John  Wilson  : 

Dear  Sir, — Your  letter  aud  circular  of  February  2d  was  received  a 
few  days  since.  Owing,  I  suppose,  to  the  obstructions  of  the  railroads 
by  the  snow,  and  further,  as  I  have  changed  my  place  of  residence,  and 
purchased  a  small  place  near  Batavia,  your  letter  was  first  sent  to  North- 
ville,  and  then  back  to  Batavia,  which  retarded  it  still  longer.  But  I 
will  now  endeavor  to  answer  your  questions,  from  my  own  experience, 
as  well  as  I  can. 

When  I  first  came  to  Illinois,  in  November,  1835,  I  had  but  small 
means  to  commence  with  in  a  new  country.  The  next  spring  I  went 
eighteen  miles  north  of  Chicago,  and  purchased  a  claim  (as  it  was  then 
called)  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  commenced  improvements. 
I  practiced  surveying  to  some  extent,  which  enabled  me  to  purchase 
necessaries,  till  I  could  procure  them  from  my  own  soil.  After  staying 
there  six  years,  not  liking  that  portion  of  the  country  very  well,  I  sold 
out,  and  purchased  upwards  of  two  hundred  acres  on  the  west  side  of 
Fox  River,  twenty  miles  above  Ottowa,  for  which  I  paid  a  little  less  than 
$2  50  per  acre.  I  then  commenced  improving  it ;  and  as  my  means 
were  still  very  limited,  I  was  obliged  to  proceed  with  caution.  How- 
ever, I  got  up  a  house,  fenced  and  broke  up  seventy  acres  in  two  seasons, 
with  very  little  help.  My  plough  cut  about  twenty  or  twenty-two  inches, 
and  I  broke  about  two  acres  per  day,  with  four  yoke  of  cattle,  the  sod 
being  very  tough.  I  sometimes  put  on  five  yoke.  I  then  sowed  twenty 
acres  vrith  winter  wheat,  on  ground  from  which  one  crop  had  been 
taken,  and  twenty  acres  of  spring  wheat,  on  new  prairie,  after  the  ground 
had  been  ploughed  again  in  the  spring.  The  whole  was  good,  and 
yielded  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  of  the  first  quality.  But,  as  wheat  was 
then,  and  for  several  years  afterwards,  very  low,  and  we  had  to  transport 
it  a  longdistance  to  market  with  teams,  it  little  more  than  paid  the  ex- 
pense of  raising,  &c.  One  year  I  had  twenty-five  bushels  of  wheat  on 
ground  from  which  one  crop  of  corn  had  been  taken ;  aud  had  the 
weather  been  not  quite  so  hot  a  few  days  before  harvest,  I  think  it 
would  have  yielded  thirty  bushels.  My  average  crops  have  been  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-two  bushels  per  acre ;  one  year,  and  only  one,  I  had 
but  thirteen  and  one-half  bushels. 

The  best  way,  I  think,  to  raise  winter  wheat  on  new  prairie,  is  to 


49 

break  it  in  June  very  shallow,  and  cross-plough  it  a  little  deeper  than  it 
was  broke,  about  the  end  of  August ;  then  sow  and  harrow  it  well,  and 
leave  it  as  rough  as  you  can.  If  among  corn,  sow  about  the  last  of 
August  or  first  of  September,  and  put  in  with  a  double  shovel  plough, 
by  going  twice  in  a  row.  Stock  must  not  be  allowed  to  run  on  it,  un- 
less the  ground  is  covered  with  snow.  The  stalks  must  be  cut  or  broken 
down  in  the  spring.  To  break  them  down,  I  take  a  pole,  ten  or  twelve 
feet  in  length,  and  hitch  a  team  to  it  so  as  to  draw  it  sideways,  when 
the  snow  is  off,  and  the  ground  and  stalks  frozen,  and  break  three  rows 
at  once.  One  man  and  team  will  break  thirty  acres  in  a  day.  I  roll 
all  my  small  grain  in  the  spring,  and  think  it  grows  evener,  and  I  know 
it  is  better  harvesting.  Wheat  does  well  on  the  sod,  if  put  in  as  I  de- 
scribe, often  yielding  twenty  bushels  or  more  per  acre.  Corn,  on  sod, 
is  rather  precarious.  I  have  never  tried  it  to  any  extent,  but  some 
have  raised  twenty  or  thirty  bushels  per  acre. 

My  method  of  raising  corn  is  to  plough  the  ground  deep,  then  mark 
it  one  way  with  my  single  shovel  plough,  about  five  inches  deep  and 
about  four  feet  apart  each  way ;  (any  thing  that  will  make  a  mark  will 
do  for  one  way ;)  the  corn  is  then  dropped  four  kernels  in  a  hill.  I  then 
take  my  two-shovel  plough,  and  set  the  shovels  apart,  so  as  to  drive  the 
horse  in  the  furrow,  and  turn  the  dirt  from  each  side  on  the  com.  This 
plan  I  find  is  very  beneficial  in  wet  weather,  in  carrying  the  surplus 
water  off  the  hills.  Just  as  it  comes  up,  I  take  my  harrow,  and  knock 
the  centre  teeth  back  so  as  not  to  drag  up  the  corn ;  I  then  take  my 
team  and  drive  with  one  horse  on  each  side  of  the  row,  taking  one  row 
at  a  time,  and  harrow  it  all  over.  This  leaves  the  ground  in  fine  con- 
dition. After  a  few  days,  I  take  ray  two-shovel  plough,  and  go  through 
it  twice  in  a  row,  both  ways ;  and  if  I  have  time,  I  go  through  it  three 
times.  This  leaves  the  ground  in  fine  order,  and  the  corn,  I  think,  fills 
out  much  better.  I  have  grown  corn  with  stalks  upwards  of  nine  feet 
in  length,  and  ears  thirteen  inches  in  length,  and  nine  and  a  half  inches 
in  circumference  ;  but  these  were  extraordinary  specimens,  having  grown 
where  some  straw  had  been  burned  the  fall  before.  My  corn  is  a  larger 
kind  than  most  of  that  grown  throughout  the  country,  and  yields  from 
fifty  to  seventy  or  eighty  bushels  per  acre.  The  time  for  planting  is 
from  the  first  to  the  middle  of  May,  or  even  earlier.  One  man  can  tend 
forty  acres,  provided  he  can  have  help  to  go  through  with  it  with  the 
plough  the  first  time. 

I  have  raised  fifty  bushels  of  oats  per  acre,  and  nearly  two  hundred 
bushels  of  potatoes ;  but  they  are  not  so  sure.  I  find  by  experience 
4 


50 

that  ttey  do  best  planted  about  the  middle  of  May,  that  they  may  be 
well  advanced  by  the  time  the  hot  weather  comes  on  ;  or  not  till  after 
the  middle  of  June,  that  they  may  have  the  benefit  of  the  Septem- 
ber rains.  But  last  season,  late  planted  potatoes  with  us  were  almost 
an  entire  failure.  I  find,  by  experience,  that  crops  of  all  kinds  do  best 
put  in  early. 

For  grazing,  I  think  our  lands  may  be  ranked  among  the  best,  if 
rightly  managed.  The  dry  land,  stock  down  with  red  clover,  or  timothy 
and  clover ;  and  the  wet  portions,  with  red  top.  Clover  does  extremely 
well,  and  yields  an  abundant  supply  of  feed.  Timothy  does  better  after 
the  land  has  been  cultivated  for  a  short  time.  A  slight  dressing  of  ma- 
nure, to  change  the  nature  of  the  soil,  is  a  great  help  to  it.  Selling 
crops  on  the  ground  is  not  much  practiced ;  but,  as  a  general  rule,  I  be- 
lieve, about  twice  the  freight  from  the  station  to  Chicago  may  be  con- 
sidered the  difference  in  the  price  of  produce  at  the  station.  Help  last 
season  was  scarce,  and  wages  very  high  ;  varying  from  $14  to  $18  per 
month,  for  seven  or  eight  months  together.  The  increase  in  value  per 
acre  would  depend  much  on  the  size  of  the  tract  cultivated.  A  small 
farm  would  be  worth  more  per  acre,  with  the  same  improvements,  than  a 
very  large  one.   For  example,  take  160  acres,  purchased  at  $10  per  acre  : 

First  cost  on  160  acres,  at  $10  per  acre,   . 

Breaking  one  hundred  acres,  at  $2  25,     . 

160  rods  fence,  on  front  side,  or  road,  $1  per  rod. 

Half  of  the  other  three  sides,   .... 

Building  house,  &c., 

Fruit  trees,  &c., 

Amounting  to      ...         . 

It  is  probably  now  worth  $25  per  acre,  which  will  be     $4,000  00 

Leaving  a  profit  for  owner  of 1,250  00 

Or,  at  ?20  per  acre,  still  leaves  a  balance  of      .         .         450  00 

It  is  probable  that  the  fence  may  be  built  for  a  little  less  than  one 
dollar  per  rod;  but  as  I  have  made  no  allowance  for  cross-fences, 
yards,  &c.,  and  calculated  only  half  of  three  sides,  and  one  whole  sido 
for  the  road,  I  think  the  excess  of  price  will  not  more  than  pay  the  ex- 
pense of  building  the  necessary  fences  inside.  I  have  also  left  sixty 
acres  for  meadow  and  pasture.  If  the  purchaser  have  means  to  make 
the  necessary  improvements,  or  most  of  them,  I  think  he  would  do 
well  to  settle  on  such  lands. 


$1,600 

00 

225 

00 

160 

00 

240 

GO 

600 

00 

25 

00 

$2,750  00 

61 

From  my  own  experience,  I  tliiuk  the  statements  of  Mr.  Wight, 
editor  of  the  "  Prairie  Farmer,"  are  as  correct  as  can  well  be  calculated. 
Spring  wheat  is  rated  a  little  below.  But  I  have  not  paid  extra  atten- 
tion to  the  growing  of  oats,  and  not  much  to  wheat.  A  great  portion 
of  the  lands  through  which  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  passes  I 
have  not  seen  ;  but  judging  from  what  I  have,  and  the  descriptions  of 
those  who  are  considered  good  judges,  I  should  pronounce  it  an  excel- 
lent tract.  I  will  now  state  my  reasons  for  selling  out  where  I  was. 
Not  having  any  help  of  my  own,  I  was  obliged  to  do  all  myself,  or  hire, 
and  to  get  good  hands  was  often  difficult  and  expensive.  I  therefore 
concluded  to  sell,  which  I  did,  for  830  per  acre,  (200  acres,)  as  I 
stated,  and  live  a  little  easier.  I  have  in  another  place  there  yet, 
seventeen  and  a  half  acres,  and  of  an  island  seven  and  a  half,  both  of 
which  I  have  offers  for,  and  think  I  shall  sell  them. 
Yours,  respectively, 

H.  H.  HENDRICK. 


LETTER  FROM  W.  R.  HARRIS. 

Palmyra,  Lek  Co.,  III.,  Feb,  IV,  1853. 
HoK.  John  Wilson  : 

Sir, — In  reply  to  your  inquiries  in  regard  to  Illinois  farming,  I  will 
state  that  I  commenced  here  in  the  spring  of  1847,  with  a  capital  of 
$700,  with  which  I  purchased  twenty  acres  of  timber  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  prairie  land.  The  first  season,  I  broke  up  fifty- 
five  acres,  with  a  pair  of  horses  and  one  yoke  of  oxen  ;  breaking  two 
acres  per  day.  The  third  year,  I  added  eighty  acres  to  my  farm,  and 
hired  fifty  acres  broke,  at  $2  per  acre.  The  fourth  year,  I  hired  ten 
acres  more  broke,  at  $2  25  per  acre,  which  gave  me  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  acres  under  cultivation.  This  is  all  that  I  have  had  under  cul- 
tivation, and  I  have  sold  the  product  this  year  for  over  82,000.  I  have 
now  been  engaged  here  about  eight  years,  and  my  capital  of  8700  has 
increased  to  between  88,000  and  810,000. 

We  generally  plant  corn  from  the  first  to  the  twenty-fifth  of  May. 
The  usual  crop  of  sod  corn  will  about  pay  for  breaking,  and  the  cost 
of  raising.  It  will  hardly  come  off  in  time  for  sowing  fall  wheat,  but 
the  ground  will  be  in  good  order  for  sowing  spring  wheat,  which  will 
probably  yield  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre.  After  the 
first  season,  the  average  crop  of  corn  is  sixty  bushels  (shelled)  per  acre. 
One  man,  with  a  pair  of  horses,  will  tend  forty  acres  of  corn,  and  do 


52 

it  well.  Our  grain  sells  at  the  railroad  stations,  at  about  ten  cents  per 
sixty  lbs.  below  the  Chicago  prices.  The  prairies  are  first-rate  grass 
lands,  and  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  all  kinds  of  stock.  Wages 
vary  from  $15  to  $20  per  month. 

Yours,  &c., 

W.  R.  HARRIS. 


LETTER  FROM  JOSEPH  C.  ORTH. 

McCleary's  Bluff,  "Wabash  Co.,  III.,  ^ 
December  16,  1855.  ) 

Hon.  John  Wilson, 

Land  Commissioner: 
Dear  Sir, — I  have  been  a  resident  of  this  county  for  the  past  twelve 
years,  having  emigrated  from  Lebanon  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  have 
devoted  a  large  portion  of  the  time  since  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
From  close  observations  during  this  period,  I  have  become  pretty 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  Southern  Illinois,  and  its  relative  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  as  compared  with  the  northern  part  of  the 
State.  The  soil  upon  the  upland  is  not  so  rich  in  appearance  as  that 
in  the  northern  prairies,  being  a  grayish,  calcareous  clay,  with  an  ad- 
mixture of  vegetable  mould  ;  but  produces,  with  proper  cultivation,  very 
heavy  crops  of  corn,  often  equal  to  those  raised  on  the  black  alluvial 
soil  skirting  the  streams.  It  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  smaller  grains, 
such  as  wheat,  oats,  barley,  rye,  and  also  the  various  meadow  grasses. 
The  culture  of  wheat  has  been  of  comparatively  recent  introduction  into 
this  section  of  the  State ;  and  such  has  been  the  remarkable  success  of 
the  experiment,  that  it  is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  principal  staples 
of  Southern  Illinois.  The  average  crops  of  Pennsylvania  farmers,  who 
have  here  turned  their  attention  to  its  growth,  have  been  about  23 
bushels  per  acre,  of  winter  wheat.  The  grain  is  plump  and  heavy,  often 
weighing  as  high  as  66  lbs.  to  the  bushel.  In  the  fall  of  1853,  the 
premium  priced  wheat  received  at  the  St.  Louis  market  was  shipped 
from  this  section  of  the  State.  The  variety  principally  grown  is  the 
white  or  blue-stem ;  though  the  red  vaiieties  are  equally  sure  and  pro- 
ductive. An  experienced  Pennsylvania  farmer,  Mr.  George  Glick,  who 
has  resided  here  some  years,  last  season  travelled  through  Illinois,  from 
here  to  Galena,  and  was  led,  from  motives  of  curiosity,  to  examine  the 


53 

specimens  of  wheat  in  tlie  stacks,  gi-anaries  and  mills  along  Lis  route. 
He  came  back  fully  satisfied  that  the  best  region  in  Illinois  for  raising 
wiuter  wheat  is  south  of  the  National  road.  The  berry  is  larger  and 
heavier,  and  the  plant  not  so  likely  to  freeze  out  as  on  the  extreme 
northern  prairies,  where  tlie  wiuter  winds  blow  off  the  light  porous 
soil  from  about  the  roots.  The  high  character  of  Southern  Illinois 
wheat  is  still  more  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  the  specimens 
of  wheat  from  Union,  one  of  the  southernmost  counties,  bore  otf  the 
piemium  at  the  last  State  Fair  at  Chicago. 

Among  the  grasses,  timothy  and  blue  grass  thrive  well,  and  clover  is 
particularly  a  sure  crop,  yielding  two  tons  of  hay  and  two  bushels  of 
seed  per  acre.  I  know  from  experience  that  our  gray  upland  soil  may 
be  annually  enriched  by  a  proper  rotation  of  crops,  and  by  occasional- 
ly seeding  down  in  clover.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  any  thing  of  the 
general  productive  capacity  of  this  region,  so  far  as  Indian  corn  is  con- 
cerned. Even  with  the  careless  cultivation  usually  bestowed  upon  it, 
the  yield  is  equal  to  that  of  any  portion  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  A 
peculiar  feature  of  Southern  Illinois  is,  that  the  timber  land  and  prai- 
rie alternate  in  tracts  of  convenient  size,  and  the  surface  is  more  undu- 
lating, as  a  general  thing,  than  in  the  north  part  of  the  State,  thus 
afibrding  facilities  for  convenient  drainage. 

For  stock  raising,  this  region  offers  great  advantages,  as  the  winters 
are  comparatively  mild  and  short,  and  domestic  animals  consequently 
require  less  food,  and  can  be  raised  with  less  expense  than  in  a  higher 
latitude. 

As  to  health,  I  candidly  believe  Southern  Illinois  will  compare  fa- 
vorably with  any  portion  of  the  West.  That  scourge  of  the  North,  con- 
sumption, is  almost  unknown  here.  It  is  true  that  on  the  rich  low- 
lands bordering  the  streams,  bilious  disorders  prevail  to  some  extent  in 
the  fall  season,  but  on  the  uplands,  good  health  may  be  enjoyed,  with 
ordinary  prudence.  Diseases,  the  result  of  miasma,  prevail  in  every 
new  country  south  of  the  44th  parallel  of  latitude,  when  the  virgin  soil 
is  first  turned  over  and  exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  It  was  so  in  the 
Genesee  valley,  in  New  York,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Miami,  in  Ohio, 
and  has  been  so  in  Illinois  ;  but  the  country  becomes  more  healthful 
as  it  grows  older.  A  great  deal  of  ague  and  chills  is  attributable  to 
errors  in  diet,  to  imprudent  exposure,  to  uncomfortable  dwelling-houses 
and  to  using  well-water  where  it  leaches  through  the  soil,  instead  of 
flowing  through  veins  in  the  rock.  By  occupying  comfortable  tene- 
ments, avoiding  needless  exposure,  eating  suitable  food,  and  using  only 


54 

sweet,  pure  water  for  drinking  and  culinary  purposes,  as  good  health 
may  be  enjoyed  in  Southern  Illinois  as  anywhere  in  the  Union. 

An  unjust  prejudice  has  hitherto  prevailed  against  this  section  of  the 
State.  None  of  the  great  avenues  of  travel  have,  until  recently,  passed 
through  it.  It  looks  uninviting  and  sterile  to  those  who  only  view  it 
from  the  steamers  as  they  sweep  around  its  borders  on  the  Mississippi 
and  Ohio  rivers.  Immense  tracts  of  its  fertile  woodland  and  prairies 
were,  until  recently,  in  the  hands  of  squatters,  who  had  held  it  for 
years  as  public  land,  thus  avoiding  paying  Government  for  the  land, 
and  taxes  to  the  State.  They  purposely  discouraged  all  those  who 
wished  to  settle  among  them,  and  gave  currency  to  all  manner  of  evil 
reports  concerning  the  country,  to  prevent  strangers  from  entering 
them  out  at  the  United  States'  land  offices.  This  class  are,  however, 
fast  leaving,  and  giving  place  to  better  citizens. 

These  causes,  and  others  which  might  be  enumerated,  have  con- 
spired to  keep  Southern  Illinois  in  the  back  ground ;  but  through  the 
influence  of  the  railroads  that  are  now  penetrating  it,  its  intrinsic  ad- 
vantages must  soon  become  known ;  and  the  inducements  it  offers  in 
soil,  chmate  and  convenience,  either  to  the  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis  or 
Chicago  markets,  will  gradually  become  appreciated  by  the  sagacious 
and  enterprising  emigrant  farmer. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

JOSEPH  C.  ORTH. 


LETTER  FROM  J.  AMBROSE  WIGHT,  ESQ. 
editor  of  the  prairie  farmer. 

Hon.  John  Wilson  : 

Dear  Sir, — At  your  request  I  would  state  that,  from  an  acquaintance 
with  Illinois  lands  and  Illinois  farmers,  of  eighteen  years,  thirteen  of 
which  I  have  been  engaged  as  editor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer,  I  am  pre- 
pared to  give  the  following  as  the  rates  of  produce  which  may  be  had 
per  acre,  with  ordinary  culture  : 

Winter  whSat, 15     to     25  bushels. 

Spring  wheat, 10     to     20       " 

Indian  corn, 40     to     VO       " 

Oats, 40     to     80       « 

Potatoes, 100     to  200       " 

Grass  (timothy  and  clover),         .         .  IJ  to       3  tons. 


55 

"  Ordinary  culture,^''  ou  prairie  lands,  is  not  what  is  meant  by  the 
term  in  the  Eastern  or  Middle  States.  It  means,  here,  no  manure  ;  and 
commonly  but  once,  or,  at  most,  twice  ploughing,  on  perfectly  smooth 
land,  with  long  furrows,  and.  no  stones  or  obstructions ;  when  two  acres 
per  day  is  no  hard  job  for  one  team.  It  is  often  but  very  poor  cul- 
ture, with  shallow  ploughing,  and  without  attention  to  weeds. 

I  have  known  crops,  not  unfrequently,  far  greater  than  these,  with 
but  little  variation  in  their  treatment ;  say  forty  to  fifty  bushels  of  win- 
ter wheat,  sixty  to  eighty  of  oats,  three  hundred  of  potatoes,  and  one 
hundred  of  Indian  corn.  "  Good  culture^''  which  means  rotation,  deep 
ploughing,  farms  well  stocked,  and  some  manure,  applied  at  intervals 
of  from  three  to  five  years,  would,  in  good  seasons,  very  often  ap- 
proach these  latter  figures. 

Yours,  truly, 

J.  AMBROSE  WIGHT. 

January  9,  1855. 


EXTRACT  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  H.  BRADLEY,  OF  ROCKTON, 
ILLINOIS. 

"  I  plough  the  ground  very  deep,  then  mark  it  two  feet  each  way  ; 
then  proceed  to  plant  with  a  hand-planter,  two  rows  at  a  time.  "With- 
in five  or  six  days  (just  before  the  corn  comes  out  of  the  ground), 
brush  the  ground  over  with  a  light  drag  with  short  wooden  teeth,  thus 
displacing  the  weeds  on  the  surface,  and  leaving  it  as  smooth  as  an 
onion  bed.  Within  a  fortnight  after  the  corn  gets  up,  go  through  it 
once  in  a  row  each  way  Avith  a  corn  plough,  and  the  work  of  cultiva- 
tion is  done.  Now  is  not  this  comparatively  a  cheap  way  of  raising- 
corn  ?  I  shall  have  at  least  sixty  bushels  per  acre  this  dry  season,  be- 
sides having  double  the  usual  amount  of  fodder.  *  *  *  One  man 
will  plant  as  fast  with  the  machine  as  four  will  with  hoes,  and  do  the 
work  much  better  than  can  be  done  with  the  hoe,  as  the  machine  is  so 
nicely  adjusted  as  to  drop  from  three  to  five  kernels,  pricking  them  all 
within  the  space  of  an  inch  and  a  half  square,  thus  giving  a  much  bet- 
ter chance  to  run  the  plough  close  to  the  hill,  than  if  the  hill  occupied 
from  four  to  six  inches  square,  as  it  does  planted  with  a  hoe." 


56 

The  Illinois  State  Register  gives  an  account  of  a 
crop  of  corn  grown  by  J.  N.  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Sanga- 
mon Countj.     His  address  is  Berlin  Post-office. 

"  Mr.  Brown  broke  up  a  field  of  forty  acres,  which  had  been  in  grass 
eighteen  years,  and  planted  it  in  corn.  The  corn  might  have  been  put 
in  hills  a  little  thicker  than  usual,  and  the  after  culture  was  tolerably 
thorough.  Some  three  or  four  weeks  ago,  nine  acres  of  the  land  was 
measured  oif,  being  the  poorest  part  of  the  field,  and  the  corn  gathered 
and  husked,  when  it  was  found  that  the  nine  acres  averaged  ninety-five 
bushels  an  acre,  which  was  satisfactory  evidence  (the  poorest  part  of 
the  field  having  been  measured)  that  the  whole  forty  acres  would 
average  full  one  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre. 

"This  incident  is  mentioned  as  an  evidence  that  the  soil  of  Central 
Illinois  does  not  deteriorate.  Mr.  Brown  is  of  opinion,  that  by  a  proper 
rotation  of  crops,  our  soil  will  improve,  and  be  made  to  produce  richer 
yields  than  it  does  even  now.     *     *     *     * 

"  In  a  conversation  we  had  with  Mr.  Brown,  he  assured  us  that  the 
land  had  never  been  manured,  and  that  if  it  had  received  as  much 
attention  as  is  usual  in  the  other  States,  the  crop  would  have  been 
much  larger." 


Extract  from  the  Chicago  '■'Daily  Democratic  PressP 

ILLINOIS  FARMS  AND  FARMERS, 

We  find  a  letter  in  the  Hunterton  Gazette^  New  Jer- 
sey, from  a  prominent  citizen  of  that  section  who  has 
been  out  West  prospecting,  with  a  view  of  l9cating, 
among  us.  Speaking  of  farms  and  farmers  in  Illinois, 
he  says : 

Let  me  cite  a  few  facts  which  I  know  to  be  true,  however  large  they 
may  seem  to  be.  Mr.  Peter  C.  Rea,  who  resided  twelve  years  in  Rari- 
tan,  near  Clover  Hill,  and  emigrated  to  Illinois,  Fulton  County,  in  the 
early  part  of  this  year,  told  me  he  had  raised  and  sold  more  wheat  since 
he  had  been  there,  than  he  had  done  in  twelve  years  he  had  resided  in 
Raritan.  He  simply  raked  together  and  burned  the  cornstalks  in  the 
spring,  and  without  ploughing  the  ground,  sowed  it  with  spring  wheat 


57 

and  harrowed  it  in,  and  in  a  few  months  reaped  a  fine  crop  of  spring 
wheat.  Ue  lias  besides  on  his  farm,  a  good  prospect  for  a  crop  of  winter 
■wheat.  I  ate  at  his  house  some  bread  made  of  the  flour  from  his  spring 
wheat,  and  it  was  as  white  and  as  good  as  any  I  ever  ate  in  New-Jersey. 
He  also  told  mo  he  should  probably  make  as  much  money  this  year  in 
Illinois,  as  he  did  in  twelve  years  in  New-Jersey. 

I  saw  a  farmer  in  Peoria  County,  who  lived  on  a  rented  farm  of 
eighty  acres,  for  which  he  paid  S200  rent  for  the  land,  and  §20  for  the 
house ;  he  did  all  his  work  himself,  except  some  help  in  planting  corn  ; 
had  one  team  of  horses,  and  after  paying  his  rent,  and  supporting  his 
family,  would  clear  one  thousand  dollars  this  year. 

My  friend,  Mr.  D.  H.  L.  Sutphin,  of  Pike  County,  formerly  of  this 
county,  had  a  field  in  with  wheat,  and  harvested  therefrom  upwards  of 
3,000  bushels.  He  hired  every  thing  done,  and  if  I  remember  correctly, 
had  cleared  over  and  above  all  expenses,  about  $2,000  by  this  operation. 
He  introduced  me  to  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Simpkins,  in  that 
county,  who  came  there  a  few  years  ago,  with  nothing  save  his  health 
and  his  hands.  He  was  now  farming,  and  he  told  us  that  he  would 
sell  this  year  produce  from  his  farm  amounting  to  between  $17,000  and 
$18,000.  I  saw  his  hog-pen,  containing  481  fat  hogs,  which  would 
average  350  lbs.  each. 

I  am  fearful  that  if  I  give  you  any  larger  facts  than  these,  they  may 
be  doubted ;  but  one  more  before  I  close.  I  was  in  Morgan  County, 
and  near  Jacksonville  was  the  f^irm  of  Mr.  Funk,  and  I  was  told  from  a 
reliable  source,  that  he  sold  that  year  $60,000  worth  of  cattle  from  off 
bis  farm.  I  know  instances  where  men  have  done  even  better  than 
this,  the  past  year,  but  it  is  needless  to  relate  more  particulars.  If  it 
would  be  proper,  I  could  give  you  the  names  of  men  from  this  county, 
who  were  poor  men  when  here,  and  probably  would  always  have  been 
poor  men  if  they  had  remained  here,  who  are  now  owning  farms  in  Illi- 
nois, in  some  instances  upwards  of  300  acres,  and  getting  rich  fast.  My 
opinion  is,  that  there  never  was  a  more  favorable  time  for  emigrating  to 
Illinois  than  the  present.  True,  lands  are  greatly  enhanced  in  value  ; 
but  prices  of  grain  are  yearly  approximating  New-York  prices,  and  the 
good  prairie  land  is  better  worth  $100  per  acre  than  our  best  New- 
Jersey  is  worth  $50. 


LETTER  FROM  JOHN  S.  PEIRONNEL. 

Peru,  Illinois,  January  1,  1856. 
Hon.  Joiix  Wilson,  Chicago  : 

Dear  Sir, — According  to  your  request,  I  send  you  a  statement  of  the 
corn  I  raised  on  a  ten-acre  lot  you  had  formerly  sold  the  Rev.  "William 
Uhl,  (less  half  acre  for  road,)  which  I  bought  last  April  for  thirty  dol- 
lars per  acre,  ($300,)  which  I  thought,  at  the  time,  a  high  price.  Since 
then  I  have  bought  90  acres  more,  at  much  higher  rates,  and  am  sorry 
I  cannot  buy  more.  I  have  formerly  lived  in  Susquehanna  County, 
Pennsylvania,  for  thirty-three  years,  and  had  a  farm  there,  which  I  sold 
when  coming  "West,  two  years  since,  for  $41  25  per  acre.  Now,  sir,  I 
candidly  saj-,  I  get  more  corn  off  the  ten  acres  I  give  you  a  description 
of,  than  can  be  raised  off  said  farm  in  Pennsylvania,  60  acres.  The 
nature  of  the  prairie  land  is  such,  that  ten  acres  can  be  cultivated  easier 
than  one  in  Pennsylvania.  I  market  more  grain  this  season  than  the 
whole  township  I  came  from  in  Pennsylvania,  (Choconut;)  and  I  can- 
didly say,  if  my  old  neighbors  and  friends  knew  the  beauty  of  this  vast 
Western  country,  Susquehanna  County  would  again  become  a  wilderness. 
I  am,  dear  sir,  your  obt.  servt., 

JNO.  S.  PEIRONNEL. 


STATEMENT 

Of  the  Expenditures^  Receij^ts  and  Profits  of  the  Farm  of  Wm.  P. 

West,  of  Batavia,  for  1853. 
Eds.  Prairie  Farmer: 

In  compliance  with  the  request  of  Mr.  Thos.  Judd,  one  of  the  committee 
on  farming,  I  submit  the  following  in  relation  to  tlie  cost  of  raising  the  various 
crops,  viz. : 

Twenlii -three  Acres. 

1852.  Dr. 
June.         To  breaking  twenty-three  acres,  3  inches  deep,  at  SI  50 

per  acre, $34  50 

Aug.           To  8  days'  cross-ploughing,  4  inches  deep,  at  $2, 16  00 

Sept.  1.     To  46  bushels  Soule's  see'd  wheat,  at  75  c.  per  bushel,.  .  34  50 

do.         To  2  days'  work,  sowing  the  same,  at  Si, 2  00 

do.         To  6  days'  work,  harrowing,  at  $2  per  day, 12  00 

do.         To  cost  harvesting  23  acres,  at  $]  50  per  acre, 34  50 

do.         To  threshing  690  bushels,  at  8  c  per  bushel, 55  20 

do.         To  hauling  the  same  to  market,  at  2  c, 13  80 

$202  50 


59 

1852.  ^^'^^ 

By  30  bushels  per  acre,  090  bushels,  at  95  c, Sfi55  50 

Cost, 2_I 

,.    .        r.  S453  00 

Nett  profits, ^     „„ 


Cost  j)er  acre 

Nctt  profits  per  acre. 


19  70 


S383  30 
104  80 


Seventeen  and  a  half  Acres  Wheat  on  Corn  Ground. 

1852.  ^- 

Aug.  20.  To  sowing  li  clays,  at  $1  per  clay, |1  50 

do.  To  35  bushels  Soule's  seed  wheat,  at  75  c, ....    ... ...       -^  ^^ 

do.  To  4  days'  work,  man,  horse  and  shovel-plough,  at  H  50,         b  UU 

do.  To  2  days'  work,  man,  horse  and  small  harrow,  at  !>1  oU,         ^  uu 

do  To  6  days'  work,  hoeing  in  wheat  around  hdls, b  (JO 

do'.  Cost  harvesung  17i  acres,  at  ^1  50  per  acre ~6  .d 

do.  To  threshing  394  bushels,  at  8  c.  per  bushel, ->i-  o^ 

do.  To  carting  214  bushels  to  market,  at  2  c.  per  bushel, . . . . 4^ 

Total  cost ^'''  '' 

1852.  C^- 

Bv  22^  bushels  per  acre, 394  bushels. 

214  bushels, 'sold  at  95  c.  per  bushel, ^-y^^  -" 

180  bushels,  sold  at  farm,  at  §1  per  bushel, ^^'^  "" 

Cost, 

Nett  profits,  17h  acres ■■"•    ^~^^  ^^ 

Cost  per  acre, '*'      !j* 

Net  profits  per  acre, 

Twelve  Acres  of  Oats. 

1853.  ^''• 

Aprill5.     To  5  days' ploughing,  at  |2 §10  JjO 

do.         To  4  days'  harrowing,  at  S2, .  t .....  • •  •  •  - «  ^^ 

do.  To  36  bushels  oats  for  seed,  and  1  day's  work  at  ^1, ... .        lU  uu 

do.         To  threshing,  S42,  harvesting,  S18, _____ 

_      ,  S88  00 

Total, 

1853. 

By  87i  bushels  per  acre,  making  1,050  bushels,  at  25  c, §262  50 

Cost, 

K  §174  60 

Nett  profits - ^       „ 

Cost  per  acre, y 

Nett  profits  per  acre, '■'^ 


60 

Nine  and  a  half  Acres  of  Spring  Wlieat. 

1S52.  Dr. 

Sept.         To  5  days'  ploughiag,  8  inches  deep,  at  $2, ^10  oO 

do.           To  19  bushels  Rio  seed  wheat,  at  75  c, 14  25 

1853. 

March  25.  1  day's  sowing  the  same, $1  00 

3  days'  work,  harrowing,  at  ^2, 6  00 

Cost  harvesting  9^  acres,  at  ^1  50  per  acre, 14  25 

Cost  tlireslnng"228  bushels,  at  8  c 18  24 

To  carting  the  same  to  market,  at  2  c, 4  56 

Total  cost, ^63  30 

1853.  Cr. 

By  9h  acres,  24  bushels  per  acre,  228  bushels,  at  Si ^228  00 

Cost, 68  30 

Nett  profits $159  70 

Cost  per  acre, $7  20 

Nett  profits  per  acre, 16  81 

Two  and  a  quarter  Acres  of  Winter  Rye. 

1852.  Dr. 

Sept.       To  ploughing  1  day,  S2, $2  00 

To  4  bu'shels  seed,  50  c., 2  00 

To  sowing  and  harrowing,  one  day, 2  00 

To  harvesting  the  same, 3  75 

To  threshing''50  bushels  Rye,  at  8  c, 4  00 

To  carting  the  same  to  market,  at  2  c, 1  00 

Total  cost, $14  75 

1852.  Cr. 

By  2i  acres,  22  bushels  and  7  qts.  per  acre,  50  bushels,  at  50  c.,. .  .     5J25  00 
Cost, 14  75 

Nett  profits, $10  25 

Cost  per  acre, $6  56 

Nett  profits  per  acre, • 4  55 

Five  and  a  half  Acres  of  Barley. 

1853.  Dr. 
April.       To  2h  days'  ploughing,  at  $2, $5  00 

To  12  bushels  seed,  at  40  c 4  80 

To  1  day's  work,  sowing  same, 1  00 

To  li  days'  work,  harrowing,  $2, 3  00 

To  harvesting  5i  acres,  at  $1  50, 8  25 

To  carting  182  bushels  to  market,  at  2  c, 3  64 

Threshing  the  same,  at  8  c, 14  56 

Total  cost, $40  25 


61 

1853.  Cr. 

By  5^  acres,  33  bushels  3  qts.  per  acre,  182  bushels,  at  40  c, 5.72  80 

Cost, 40  25 

Nett  profits 532  55 

Cost  per  acre, §7  32 

Nett  profits  per  acre, 5  92 

Twenty-eight  and  a  half  Acres  Corn  Ground. 
One-half  of  this  was  fall  ploughed,  the  balance  Timothy  sod,  broke  May 
1st,  1852,  7  inches  deep.     Cost  of  tending  about  the  same  as  fall  ploughing. 

Dr. 

To  28^  acres  ploughing,  at  §1  per  acre, §23  50 

To  5  days'  harrowing,  at  S2, 10  00 

.  To  4  bushels  seed  corn,  75  c, 3  00 

To  9|  days'  planting,  7s., 8  31 

To  26  days'  cultivating  corn,  Si  25, 30  50 

To  12  days'  hoeing,  §8  c, 10  56 

To  57  days'  husking,  $1, 57  00 

Shelling  and  marketing  1,710  bushels,  at  4  c., G8  40 

Total  cost, 5216  27 

Cr. 

By  2SJ  acres,  60  bushels  per  acre,  1,710  bushels,  at  50  c, §S55  00 

Cost, 216  27 

Nett  profits, $638  73 

Cost  per  acre, §7  59 

Nett  profits  per  acre, 22  41 

One  Acre  Potatoes. 
1853.  Dr. 

To  cost  of  raising, 10  00 

Cr. 
By  150  bushels  potatoes,  25  c, 837  50 

Nett  profits, $27  50 

One  Hundred  and  Three  Sheep.  Dr. 

To  cutting  and  stacking  25  tons  hay,  at  Si, 825  00 

To  feeding  30  bushels  corn,  50  c., 15  00 

To  feeding  and  salt, 10  00 

To  washing  and  shearing  sheep,  and  marketing  wool, 10  00 

Total  cost, S60  00 

Cr. 

By  103  fleeces,  average  3  lbs.  10  oz..  373  lbs.,  at  46  c, 5i71  53 

By  53  lambs,  §1  25, 66  25 

§237  83 
Cost, 60  00 

Nett  profits, §177  83 


62 

Fifteen  Head  of  Cattle  and  One  Colt. 

Dr. 

To  cost  keeping  to  hay, ^24  00 

To  25  bushels  corn  feed,  50  c, 12  50 

To  labor  and  salt, 10  50 


Total  cost, $47  00 

Cr. 

By  growth  on  cattle  and  colt, S150  00 

Cost, 47  00 


Nelt  profits, 3103  00 

Dr.  To  fatting  one  sow  and  four  pigs,  80  bushels  corn,  at  50c., 40  00 

Cr.  By  1,500  lbs.  of  pork,  at  5  c.  per  lb., 75  00 

Nett  profits, 335  00 

25  bushels  apples,  31, .... 325  00 

8  bushels  peaches,  31, 8  00 

5  swarms  bees,  35, 25  00 

50  lbs.  honey,  1  2^  c, 6  25 

24  turkeys,  50  c, 12  00 

60  chickens,  12i  c, 7  50 

383  75 
Cost  of  keeping  the  above, 10  00 

Nett  profits, 373  75 

Twenty-one  Acres  Timothy  Seed. 

Dr.  To  harvestin2;,  threshing  and  cleaning, 345  00 

Cr.  By  84  bushels,  at  32  per  bushel, 168  00 

Nett  profits, 3123  00 

Recapitulation. 

Cost  of  Growing.       Net  Profits. 

23  acres  of  wheat 3202  50  3453  00 

17^  acres  wheat 104  80  278  50 

9|  acres  spring  wheat, ...    68  30  159  70 

2i  acres  rye, 14  75  10  25 

5^  acres  barley, 40  25  32  55 

12  acres  oats, 88  00  174  50 

28|  acres  corn, 216  27  638  73 

1  acre  potatoes, 1 0  00  27  50 

lOSsheep 60  00  177  83 

Cattle  and  colt 47  00  103  00 

Pork 40  00  35  00 

Apples,  Peaches,  Bees,  Turkeys,  &c., 10  00  73  75 

21  acres  Timothy  seed, 45  00  123  00 

Total, 3946  87         32,287  31 

Number  of  acres,  240.     Paying  an  interest  on  3158  88  per  acre,  at  6  per  ct. 

WM.  P.  WEST,  Batavia,  III. 


63 


statistics  of  Towns  on  Illinois  Central  Rail-Road,  1855. 


NAME. 

i 

! 

1 

If 

h 
II 

3 

1 

ii 

If 

|1 

1 
1 

1 

1 

E 

Ii 

if 

s  a 

11 
II 

Thornton 

Chebanse, 

"Woosung, 

Kappa, 

1853 
1854 
1855 
1853 
1854 
1853 
1855 
1853 
1854 
1854 
1854 
1828 
1836 
1850 
1855 
1854 
1854 
1850 
1840 
1854 
1855 
1850 
1850 
1850 
1854 
1850 
1838 
1853 

1854 

1835 
1839 
1853 
1853 
1854 
1829 
1852 
1855 
1832 
1838 
1820 
1853 
1854 
1855 

none 

300 

25 

25 

none 

145 

65 

none 

16 

14 

3 

none 

18 

1400 

none 

500 
200 

120 
25 
54 
15U 
150 
125 
100 

1800 
120 
600 
100 
400 
103 
350 
250 
175 
140 
800 
525 
500 
160 

1329 
256 
180 
16 
225 

5000 
150 

416 

1145 
s?;nn 

none 

75 

6 

4 

none 

2G 

13 

none 

3 

1 

none 
8 
200 
none 
not 
givn 

25 

none 

1 

none 

175 

none 

400 

12 

60, 

none 

21 

5 

8 

35 

60 

20 

10 

200 

20 

60 

25 

100 

21 

125 

32 

22 

30 

200 

89 

70 

40 

300 

35 

38 

1 

42 

1000 

15 

not 

givn 

800 
90 
65 
12 

600 

60 

13 

1540 

40 

125 

400 
10 
5 

'2 
'2 

*i 

1 

2 

i 
1 

'2 

2 

1 

9 

2 

2 
4 
2 

1 

6 
1 

10 
1 
4 
4 

17 

3 
2 
1 
2 
8 
4 
3 

25 
3 

11 
3 
3 
1 

10 
6 
3 
6 
3 

I 

9 
30 
4 
2 

*5 

75 
2 

10 

22 

60 
6 
5 
1 

30 
7 
2 

26 
2 
9 

45 

'3 

2 
3 
2 
3 

'2 
2 

i 
1 
1 
1 
2 
3 
1 
1 

1 

10 

1 

2 

4 
4 
2 
1 
1 
4 
2 
1 

8 
2 
4 
3 
2 

"i 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

2 
3 

,  "i 

4 
1 

1 

2 

2 

1 

4 

'7 
2 
2 
3 
2 

'3 

4 

'3 
1 

12 

"s 

1 

5 
1 

3 

5 

5 

16 

19 
5 

8 

1 
3 

3 

i 

2 

2 
2 
2 

8 
1 
3 
3 

'2 

2 

Ashlej', 

Du  Quoin, 

Loda 

Mendota 

Sandoval, 

Centralia, 

Council  Hill, 

Hudson, 

Warren, 

Pana 

Manteno, 

Apple  River, 

Monee 

2 

5 

1 
1 
4 

i 

Richview, 

De  Soto, . , , , 

Mattoon, 

Amboj'^, 

Scales  Mound, 

Tonica, 

Eleroy, 

Freeport, 

Panola, 

W.  Urbana, 

1 

18 

1 

6 
10 
2 

1 

La  Salle . 

Carbondale, 

Lena 

none    350 

51   350 

none    100 

600  2200 

Pulaski, 

Decatur, 

11 
2 

21 

liora, 

none 

2200 

50 

360 

300 

90 

5500 

150 

loon 

Forreston 

Bloomington,  .... 

4 
8 

Kankakee, 

Ullin 

none  2500 

"       110 

20 

Patoka, 

" 

64 


NAME. 

$ 

Coo 

1-= 

1^ 

cS 

1 

r 

1 

11 

1 

1 
B 

1 

3 

II 

ii 

li 

11 

» 

a 

Iz; 

K 

«" 

^ 

"A 

Wapella, 

1853 

none 

2Y5 

none 

35 

5 

1 

1 

Makanda, 

1854 

14      50 

5 

15 

1 

Dunleith, 

1853 

5    700 

1 

175 

6 

i 

1 

2 

Polo, 

1854 

none    550 

none 

130 

18 

2 

3 

1853 
1855 

300J300 

15 
none 

150 

38 

25 
3 

3 

1 

1 

3 

Sublette, 

none 

185 

1 

Tacusa, • 

1855 
1853 

« 

40 
300 

" 

5 
40 

•• 

1 

1 

2 

1 

Moawequa, 

2 

Oconee, 

1855 

" 

'70 

" 

10 

2 

. , 

1 

Macon 

1854 
1854 
1853 
1854 

10 
none 

28 
10 
20 
50 

1 

none 

3 

15 

5 

10 

'i 

1 

*2 

Minonk 

RiclitoD 

Villa  Ridge, 

Dixon, 

1839 
1854 

540 !  3  200 

'io 

3 

43 
3 

6 

1 

2 

3 

Y 

Tamaroa, 

none     48'none 

Jonesboro, 

1818 

5841  808!   113 

162 

2 

13 

3 

i 

3 

7 

Clinton, 

1845 

800 

1500 

300 

500 

2 

3 

20 

3 

1 

10 

At  some  of  tliese  stations  small  settlements  existed  before  the  town  -was  organ- 
ized, which  accoimts  for  population  appearing  on  the  statement  before  the  date 
given  for  the  starting  of  the  towru 


I.  '-'^^ 


^ 
^ 


^, 


'^ 


